Belgian Darts Open 2026 Round-up | Luke Humphries holds off charging Clayton to clinch the title in Wieze
PDC
Luke Humphries is back in the winning enclosure on the
European Tour. He did not look totally convincing on the outer ring throughout the
last session in the Belgian Darts Open but his sheer class prevailed as he took
down Jonny Clayton 8-6 to clinch the title.
ADVERTISEMENT
It is not just a first success in the Belgian Darts Open,
but a maiden title in Belgium for the world number two who continues his fine
form on the Euro Tour, winning a title in every year since 2022.
How they reached the final
It was almost a disaster match for Humphries who should have
defeated Chris Dobey comfortably but squeezed through with a 6-5 scoreline. The
opening stages were firmly on throw. Humphries had five chances to break in the
fifth leg but missed all of them. He continued to miss doubles but his scoring
was offering him opportunities. He finally got that crucial break and went out
into a 5-3 lead. However, he missed a huge number of match darts to get over
the line. Dobey somehow found a way back into the match and found himself
throwing for the match. Humphries stormed ahead and after another five missed match
darts in that game alone, he pinned double three for a hard-fought win despite
missing 27 darts at a double.
He would overcome these doubling troubles to an extent to
defeat Michael van Gerwen 7-2 in a repeat of the 2023 which went the way of the
world number three with Humphries also wiring double 12 for a nine.
No mistakes were made this time. The Dutchman had been
averaging over 110 at times this weekend but was not able to produce these
numbers in the semi-final. The doubling troubles continued in periods of that
match but ‘Mighty Mike’ was not able to capitalise enough. At 2-, Humphries accelerated
away. He ended up averaging over 105 while pinning 47% of his doubles in an
ominous showing.
Clayton started the evening session with a 6-1 trouncing
over the home favourite Andy Baetens, ending any hope the Wieze crowd had from
native darters. The Belgian only got darts at a double in two legs, in the
first one, which went the way of ‘The Ferret’ for a break, and the sixth one. He
found the outer ring but was already 5-1 down at that point. Clayton sealed the
deal and comfortably advanced.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Welshman still was not firing on all cylinders against
Niels Zonneveld but still had enough to get past him 6-4. After seven
consecutive holds, the Dutchman could not get away from the one segment as
Clayton broke to move 5-3 in front. ‘Triple Z’ broke back before Clayton
pinned tops to move one away. A match dart was missed by Clayton as Zonneveld forces
a last leg decider.
It was a scrappy affair. Both players missed a handful of
match darts. It was a tough pill to take for Zonneveld as he came desperately
close to a maiden Euro Tour final but the experience and class of Clayton saw
him prevail and book his spot in the final in Wieze.
Luke Humphries won the 2026 Belgian Darts Open
Humphries reigns supreme in Belgium
The doubling troubles replicated prior woes for the 2024
world champion. He missed a brace in the first leg to break as Clayton snuck
ahead. Humphries responded in fine fashion, pinning double 11 for a 142
checkout.
ADVERTISEMENT
Another break opportunity would emerge, and after missing
tops for a 73 checkout Clayton could not muster up an opportunity of his own.
The Englishman nailed double 10 before Clayton missed the bull to break back.
Humphries firmly shut the door on double 10.
It was looking like it could be a breeze for Humphries as he
found double eight for a fourth leg on the spin. That was raised to five as
Humphries continued to turn up the heat, double eight again being his friend.
It had only been 10 minutes and Clayton was firmly in a lot
of trouble. He was not only set to lose, but to be on the end of a thrashing. Humphries
put more daylight between them with a 130 checkout on double five.
Clayton then produced a bit of quality. After Humphries
missed the bull for a 132 checkout, the 2021 Premier League champion took out
126 on that target in the middle of the board with both players seeing the funny
side.
ADVERTISEMENT
Clayton prolonged the match for another leg. He would break
back in the next leg but that was aided by Humphries missing four match darts and
a bit of quality by himself to take out 78 in two. Clayton then streaked ahead on
his throw to close the gap to 7-6. It was not to be as match dart number six flew
into the double 10 segment as a relieved Humphries got over the line in Wieze
to end a stressful but productive evening session. It was filled with brilliant
and sketchy darts, but overall class from one of the best players in the world.
Lucas MichaelDarts Journalist
Lucas Michael is a darts journalist and reporter based in Cambridge, UK, and has been part of the DartsNews team since 2025. He covers professional darts through reports, analysis, round-ups, and live coverage, with a focus on clear context and accurate reporting across the PDC calendar.
A key part of his work is liveblogging major tournaments throughout the year, providing real-time updates, match coverage, and contextual reporting across the professional circuit. He also reports regularly from events on site and has covered the PDC World Darts Championship from the venue, delivering first-hand insight throughout the tournament.
Within the newsroom, Lucas works closely with the editorial team and supports coverage alongside Chief Content Officer Samuel Gill and reporter Kieran Wood.
Lucas holds a BA (Hons) in Sports Journalism. In his work, he places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating content promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026