Rob Cross advances with 106 average as Joe Cullen and Cameron Menzies depart in opening session

The 2026 Swiss Darts Trophy began with a bang in front of a passionate crowd in Basel, watching on with some top players battling for spots in the second round, along with key matches surrounding European Championship qualifications.

Former world champion Rob Cross will be in Dortmund, and he will also be in contention for the title in Switzerland. He began his campaign with a 105.95 average to defeat Mario Vandenbogaerde 6-3.

Cross got out the blocks with a bang, averaging around the 111 mark in the opening few legs. He led 2-1 with Vandenbogaerde resorting to a 104 checkout to get on the board. 'Voltage' stamped his authority with a 13-dart hold followed by a 90 checkout in two to break. Another 104 checkout by Vandenbogaerde helped him on the way to level at 3-3, yet to miss a double. Cross solved this issue by preventing his opponent from getting chances on the outer ring. He accelerated back ahead, seizing the break lead to move within one of the victory. He saw it out on throw with an 86 checkout, dealing with a tricky test to confirm his spot in tomorrow's order of play.

Joe Cullen was another big name in action, but it did not look like it on stage. Both he and Tom Bissell averaged in the low 80s, as his European Championship hopes are dealt a major blow in a 6-5 defeat.

It was a messy match. Cullen began with a 154 checkout, but a score of eight straight afterwards summed up proceedings. Bissell made it three legs on the spin as Cullen struggled for any traction. He soon got back level, missing the bull for an eye-catching 132 in the process. Missed darts by ‘The Business’ are punished with Cullen sailing back ahead with a 66 finish on double 12. At 4-4, Cullen missed his first dart of the match to break. That proved to be crucial. A final-leg decider was forced with Bissell throwing for it. He found that double 16 target ‘The Rockstar’ missed and scrambled into the second round. Not a classic, but it is a disaster for Cullen who sees another chance to get more ranking money on the board disappear.

There were some more hugely anticipated contests surrounding the race to the European Championship. At the start of the day, Karel Sedlacek sat in 35th behind Sebastain Bialecki in 34th. Following a 6-4 win over the Pole, he was bumped up a position and boosts his hopes of a return to Dortmund.

Some high calibre darts were played out between the two. A couple of 11-darters by Bialecki were the highlights as eight consecutive holds were played out to leave the score at 4-4. Sedlacek, who recently became the first ever Czech player to win a PDC ranking title, moved up the gears. Bialecki missed just one dart on the outer ring in a brilliant performance but still would lose the final two legs as ‘Evil Charlie’ pinned the bull to break and saw it out on double eight.

He closed the gap to Cristo Reyes in the top 32, who had a tough test against Cameron Menzies. Since reaching the quarter-finals in Austria, Reyes has lost in the first round of the last six European Tour events he has participated in. That ended in Basel with a much-needed 6-4 triumph.

Reyes began brilliantly with a 13-dart hold before missing double 12 for a 141. From that point, Menzies was in command. He ticked off three legs on the spin with his Spanish opponent not threatening. ‘Cammy’ almost made it 4-1 with a 131 checkout on double 20. Next door, Reyes used two double one’s to end the rut and was soon back on level terms. Both players took out 210 and 224 in four darts, respectively, before Reyes secured another hold to move 5-4 to the good. Three darts wired double 10, and Menzies could only gaze on as Reyes booked his spot in round two with a 68 finish.

Niels Zonneveld played a brilliant match in Basel, averaging over a ton in his first match after his debut World Grand Prix campaign. However, he would lose 6-4 against an equally as impressive Bradley Brooks. It could have been very different for the Dutchman. He sealed an early break before missing three darts to take a 5-2 lead. Added to him missing the 11 segment for a 121, the chances were there. However, so was ‘Bam Bam’ who capitalised. He broke back and secured parity. From that point, he was in command. He completed the match against he throw on double nine, with both players having played their part in a thriller. 13 180’s was produced with Brooks averaging 100.73 to advance.

William O’Connor also managed to get the win on the board, comfortably seeing off Jani Haavisto 6-1. O’Connor was missing doubles in the early stages of the match, and that allowed Haavisto to get a first leg on the board to level from 1-1. From that point on, the Irishman bossed proceedings. Haavisto was here or thereabouts, but he could not set up chances to win legs. O’Connor took back the lead before a brace of 15-darters were followed by a 12-dart break to allow him to throw for the match.

Mensur Suljovic made a winning return to the European Tour with a 6-3 triumph over Gyorgy Jehirszki. The Hungarian took out checkouts of 105, with two tops, and 117 with some very good finishing throughout, but his scoring was not good enough and the Austrian was allowed to edge ahead. His performance was not spectacular, but he was able to get over the line with an 87 average and an 81 checkout to culminate events.

Niko Springer was hugely underwhelming, averaging just under 77 on the Basel stage. He still won 6-1 with no problem over host qualifier Roman Wellinger. The first three legs were breaks in 19, 19 and 24 darts. Springer found himself ahead after a tumultuous start but picked up the pace and got a first hold on the board. It was the first of five holds in a row to get the match done and dusted, ending with a 94 checkout with two double 19’s to set up a clash against the world number three Gian van Veen.