The 2025 Belgian Darts Open kicks off the new PDC European Tour season for 2025, bringing top level darts action back to Wieze, Belgium. Taking place from March 7–9 at the Oktoberhallen venue, this tournament is the first of 14 European Tour events on the 2025 PDC Pro Tour.
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A field of 48 players will compete for a £175,000 prize fund, with £30,000 awarded to the champion. Defending champion Luke Littler returns after his win here last year, when the then-17-year-old phenom hit a nine-dart finish in the final to capture the title on his European Tour debut. Can we expect the same sort of drama this weekend? Let’s hope so!
As fans and players descend on darts mad Wieze for the season opener, here’s an in depth look at the tournament format, a recap of last season, the top contenders, the full lineup, and everything you can expect to happen this weekend.
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Tournament format
The Belgian Darts Open follows the standard PDC European Tour format with 48 players and a tiered entry system. In a change from previous years, the top 16 players on the PDC Order of Merit are now seeded and receive byes into the second round.
Meanwhile, 16 other players qualified via the one-year Pro Tour Order of Merit and will begin their campaigns in the first round. The remaining 16 spots are filled through various qualifiers: ten players came through the Tour Card Holder Qualifier, four from the Host Nation Qualifier (for Belgian players), one from the Nordic & Baltic qualifier, and one from the East European qualifier.
This weekend long event is condensed into three days of action: all 16 first-round matches on Friday (split into afternoon and evening sessions), the 16 second-round matches on Saturday (again across two sessions), and then the final on Sunday with the last 16 in the afternoon, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final on Sunday evening.
Matches are played in a straight knockout format, best-of-11 legs in early rounds, increasing to best-of-13 in the semis and best-of-15 in the final. So there’s definitely plenty of darts to get excited about this weekend!
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The prize money on offer is significant for a weekend’s work, and someone will be going home with a big pay day. The total purse is £175,000, with the payouts structured as follows:
Winner: £30,000
Runner-up: £12,000
Semi-finalists: £8,500 each
Quarter-finalists: £6,000 each
Last 16 losers: £4,000 each
Round 2 losers: £2,500 each
Round 1 losers: £1,250 each
Recap of the 2024 European Tour season
To set the stage for 2025, let’s briefly look back at the 2024 European Tour season, and what a year it was.
The 2024 European Tour comprised 13 events across the continent, including two stops in Belgium (Wieze and a later event in Antwerp) and even a first ever visit to Switzerland back in September. Across those 13 tournaments, an incredible nine different players claimed titles, with no single player winning more than two events.
Luke Littler made his European Tour debut at last year’s Belgian Darts Open in Wieze and stunned the field by winning the title, defeating former world champion Rob Cross 8–7 in the final. In that match, Littler electrified the crowd with a perfect nine-dart leg in the deciding moments, and this was a sign of things to come for the new world champion last year.
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Luke Littler won the UK Open last weekend.
Luke Humphries, now world No. 1, had another strong year on the European Tour, picking up two titles of his own which came in Munich and Prague. Humphries triumphed at the German Darts Grand Prix in Munich with a dominant 8–1 win over Michael van Gerwen, and later added the Czech Darts Open title in Prague, defeating Belgium’s Kim Huybrechts 8–1 in the final.
Several established stars turned back the years on the European Tour in 2024, including Gary Anderson, who won the European Darts Grand Prix in Sindelfingen, his first European Tour title in a whopping ten years.
Aside from Littler, there were a number of other new stars who made a name on the European Tour in 2024. Germany’s Martin Schindler won his first PDC title at the International Darts Open in Riesa and later clinched a second title at the Swiss Darts Trophy in Basel. Another first time winner was Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock, who claimed the Dutch Darts Championship in May, beating Jonny Clayton on his way to glory.
Who’s in action at the 2025 Belgian Darts Open?
With the new season upon us, the title favourites in Wieze includes a mix of fan favourites and those looking to make a name for themselves.
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Defending champion Luke Littler returns as the 2nd seed and a major contender. Luke Humphries, the current world No.1, will look to start the Tour strong, while former world champions Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen remain formidable threats.
Price, in particular, has looked like he’s just a few games away from getting back to his very best, and should be one to watch this weekend.
Rob Cross, last year’s runner up, is another strong candidate, alongside Stephen Bunting, Jonny Clayton, and Peter Wright.
Mike de Decker is the top Belgian alongside Dimitri van den Bergh.
Belgium’s own Dimitri Van den Bergh will be carrying the hopes of the home crowd alongside Mike de Decker. Meanwhile, rising stars like Josh Rock and Gian van Veen will look to make a statement early in the season.
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The Oktoberhallen in Wieze has become a beloved stop on the tour, known for its brilliant atmosphere. With a capacity of around 3,000 fans per session, the Belgian Darts Open will of course be a festival like atmosphere, so if you’re heading out there make sure to bring an umbrella for any flying beer.
Fans attending can expect nonstop entertainment from Friday all the way through to Sunday, and the possibility of another nine-darter (it’s about time from Littler)! With the tournament marking the start of the European Tour season, players will be eager to set the tone for the year ahead and stamp their authority on the competition in the early doors.
Bring on Wieze!
Full lineup
Seeded players:
- Luke Humphries
- Luke Littler
- Michael van Gerwen
- Rob Cross
- Stephen Bunting
- Jonny Clayton
- Dave Chisnall
- Damon Heta
- Gerwyn Price
- Nathan Aspinall
- Chris Dobey
- Danny Nopert
- Peter Wright
- James Wade
- Gary Anderson
- Dimirti Van den Bergh
PDC Tour Order of Merit:
Ryan Searle
Josh Rock
Martin Schindler
Ross Smith
Daryl Gurney
Gian van Veen
Raymond van Barneveld
Cameron Menzies
Mike De Decker
Michael Smith
Wessel Nijman
Ritchie Edhouse
Jermain Wattimena
Dirk van Duijvenbode
Ricardo Pietreckzo
Luke Woodhouse
Qualifiers:
Cam Crabtree
Thomas Lovely
Ryan Joyce
Thibault Tricole
Matthew Dennant
Darryl Pilgrim
Jim Long
Matt Campbell
James Hurrell
Owen Bates
Boris Krcmar
Darius Labanauskas
FM
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- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- 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