European Darts Open Sunday afternoon Round-Up: Michael van Gerwen dumped out, Nathan Aspinall headlines final session
PDC
Luke Woodhouse produced one of the comebacks of the European Tour season, while Sebastian Bialecki reached a landmark first Euro Tour quarter-final during a dramatic afternoon at the European Darts Open in Leverkusen.
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The afternoon got underway in slightly underwhelming fashion as Jermaine Wattimena did a professional job of getting by an out-of-sorts Ryan Joyce to make his second consecutive quarter final on the European Tour stage. ‘The Machine Gun’ was in control throughout the match, but didn’t need to get out of first gear in a low-key affair in which neither player showcased what they can do on the stage.
What followed was simply extraordinary, as Luke Woodhouse completed an improbable comeback from 4-0 down to defeat Jonny Clayton in a deciding leg. After four legs, ‘The Ferret’ was averaging 105 and in cruise control, but four fifteen darters and a superb twelve darter to win the match saw the reigning Baltic Sea Darts Open champion home to make his third quarter final of the year on the European Tour with an average of just over 98.
Another thriller took place thereafter as Dirk van Duijvenbode got the better of title favourite Wessel Nijman. In a thriller which saw six maximums and breaks of throw aplenty, the difference maker was Aubergenius's incredible combination shots at crucial times, with 126 and 130 on the bull pinned, and a showstopping 143 to win the match with Nijman on a finish himself, to see the world number 28 through to his second Euro Tour final session of the year.
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Damon Heta then turned on the style to sink Michael van Gerwen in what felt like his most complete stage performance of 2026. Five 180s went for ‘The Heat’, but the deciding factor came on the outer ring as the Australian number one hit 60% of his doubles whilst the world number three missed nine of his thirteen attempts, despite his impressive scoring. An average of over 100 and a 6-4 scoreline felt like justification for what was a sterling effort from Heta to book his spot in this evening’s action.
Sebastian Bialecki then made a little bit of personal history in getting past Kevin Doets with a 102 average, in turn placing him in his first ever European Tour quarter-final. ‘Bolt’ took advantage of a despondent Doets who struggled in the first five legs and paid the price for his slow start, eventually recovering to average 98 but unable to turn the tide and continue his impressive form in the greatest tour in professional sport as he succumbed to a 6-4 loss to the number one player on the Development Tour.
Professional Wade, measured Aspinall and rampant Ratajski
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James Wade was professional in seeing off Host Nation Qualifier Jan Schmidt thereafter. The last German standing kicked off this match in incredible fashion with a 152 checkout, but ‘The Machine’ then took control, going 5-1 up before missing ten match darts. For a brief moment, there looked to be scope for a similar comeback to what ‘Lightning’ did against Cameron Menzies on Friday, but the number four seed eventually pinned double 4 to get over the line and bring the curtain down on a fairytale weekend for Schmidt in only his second European Tour event.
The EDO title defence continued for Nathan Aspinall as he saw off Ross Smith to book his place in tonight’s action. The matchup promised fireworks on the scoring front, but only four 180s were shared between the pair. Despite that, ‘The Asp’ produced a controlled display, averaging 96 and racing into a 4-1 lead over ‘Smudger’. Smith threatened a late revival, but Aspinall held his nerve to close out victory with his second match dart and keep his hopes of retaining the title alive.
Nathan Aspinall continues brilliance.
Krzysztof Ratajski rounded up the afternoon with a solid victory over top seed Gian van Veen. ‘The Giant’ struggled to get down to a finish regularly, and ‘The Polish Eagle’ took full advantage, showing his dexterity on double 16, as well as on tops, a target he often struggles on, to see off the Dutchman 6-3 and set up a meeting with Aspinall tonight.
The final session of the 2026 European Darts Open gets underway from 6pm GMT tonight, with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final available to watch for a fee on PDC.TV, and DartsNews.com continuing their coverage of the event through their liveblog, which goes up from 5:30pm.
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- 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
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026
- Littler lost to crabtree in the youth/junior/whatever you call it. He had no point in being there. He's unfortunately now got to the stage,he feels all he has to do is get on the stage to win. Well,I hope he realises part of his fear factor has gone. Happened to Taylor,then van gerwen,and it's causing him to realise pretty sharp,he isn't unstoppable. It's good for the sport,not 1 single player in my 60 years has ever,or will ever be, unbeatable.rick6725-10-2026
- I think it's great to see Mark Webster looking good,good ladrick6725-10-2026
- I agree,I can't believe the lack of coverage of this sad loss. Always enjoyed watching him,but I guess now it's all about littler,well it seems that way. Darts has sadly lost a good manrick6717-10-2026
- In the absence of a report regarding the death of Stefan Lord, I'll assist. An excellent player in the late 70s and early 80s, he actually won the now defunct 3rd place match at two World Championships and a couple of the News of the World Championships. A fabulous player and easily the best Swedish player ever. Rest peacefully Stefan.richieburnettrocks16-10-2026