Preview Friday afternoon Swiss Darts Trophy: Callan Rydz, Andrew Gilding and Mensur Suljovic kick off Euro Tour action in Basel

From Friday, September 26 to Sunday, September 28, the Swiss Darts Trophy 2025 is on the program at the Jakobshalle in Basel. This is the thirteenth of a total of fourteen Euro Tour tournaments and represents the last chance for a number of players to secure a spot at the World Grand Prix and European Darts Championships later in October.

The field of competitors includes 48 players and a total prize pool of £175,000 is up for grabs, with the winner alone taking home £30,000. Title holder Martin Schindler won the tournament last year after a narrow 8-7 victory over Ryan Searle.

Below we preview the first eight matches of the first round scheduled for Friday afternoon.
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The 2025 Swiss Darts Trophy will be kicked off by Connor Scutt and Callan Rydz. Scutt is having a disappointing year on the European Tour. 'The Sniper' only managed to qualify for two tournaments and could not make his mark in them. On his first entry this year he lost directly in the first round, and the second time was also unsuccessful. Although he still managed to win his first match, things went wrong in the second round. Rydz, however, has not had a better year. Although he played more tournaments with 5 entries this year, the English darter from Newcastle did not manage to get past the first round in any of these appearances. So both Scutt and Rydz could use some success on the Euro Tour in Basel.

Then it is immediately time for the only Dutchman active this Friday afternoon. Niels Zonneveld begins a crucial tournament for him against Czech Dalibor Smolik. Zonneveld is currently in spot 19 on the ProTour Order of Merit, three spots and 5,500 pounds behind the necessary 16th place finish to qualify for the World Grand Prix. With Smolik, the Dutchman appears to have a favorable draw to at least survive the first round. However, to ensure his participation in the Grand Prix, 'Triple Z' will probably have to reach the quarterfinals or semifinals, depending on other results. Should he get this far in Basel he will also immediately do good business for the European Darts Championship, where he is also currently well outside the qualifying spots.

After Zonneveld, Krzysztof Ratajski and Owen Bates will square off, a match that mainly Raymond van Barneveld will follow emphatically. Ratajski currently occupies 16th place on the ProTour Order of Merit, which would qualify him exactly for the World Grand Prix. With an early elimination, however, he is likely to fall just outside the boat. It is therefore very important for the Pole to finish this match victoriously. In addition, he is currently 35th on the European Tour Order of Merit, which does not guarantee him participation in the European Darts Championship. A crucial weekend for the Polish Eagle. With Bates, however, he has found a favorable opponent. The Englishman was only present at the very first Euro Tour tournament of this year, but lost directly in the first round. On paper, Ratajski should therefore do well in view of the two upcoming majors.

Then it's time for a duel between Andrew Gilding and Cor Dekker. Gilding seems certain of participating in the World Grand Prix with a gap of almost 5,000 pounds, but will still want to go far himself just to be sure. For the European Darts Championship, 'Goldfinger' could also use a good result, as there good results from some of the names below him could put him just out of contention if he performs disappointingly in the last two tournaments. Cor Dekker is facing his second Euro Tour tournament, after losing 6-4 to Dirk van Duijvenbode at the Czech Darts Open earlier this month on his first entry. The Dutch Norwegian will be hoping to win his first game on the European Tour in Basel.

In the fifth match this afternoon, Ryan Joyce takes on Host Nation Qualifier Rocco Fulciniti. Joyce is almost assured of participation in both the European Darts Championship and the World Grand Prix. It would have to be very strange if 'Relentless' would not qualify for those tournaments, allowing him to play freely. With Fulciniti as an opponent, the chance of a spot in the second round seems even bigger. The Swiss managed to qualify through the Host Nation Qualifier by beating Rene Kern 6-2 in the deciding match.

Next on the schedule is a match between Luke Woodhouse and Lukas Wenig. Woodhouse is having a solid year on the European Tour and has already secured participation in both the European Darts Championship and the World Grand Prix. Last month he managed to reach the quarterfinals at the Flanders Darts Trophy in Antwerp, but the past two tournaments 'Woody' failed to reach Sunday. Wenig has also played five Euro Tour tournaments this year, but only managed to reach the second round once. Last weekend he narrowly lost 6-5 to Joe Cullen in his opening match at the Hungarian Darts Trophy.

The penultimate match will be played by Ricardo Pietreczko and Oskar Lukasiak. Pietreczko can still qualify for the World Grand Prix, but will have to secure at least a spot in the semifinals, or even finals. This seems an almost impossible task, but 'Pikachu' has shown before that he can win a Euro Tour tournament so we certainly cannot rule it out. In Lukasiak, the German meets an opponent he should normally win against. The Swede is making his debut on the European Tour this year.

Finally, Mensur Suljovic and Martin Lukeman will be in action. Both men seem to be able to forget both the European Darts Championship and the World Grand Prix, so there are no extra stakes in this match. Suljovic recently reached the last 16 at the Flanders Darts Trophy, but otherwise it was a poor year for the Austrian on the Euro Tour. Lukeman also had little success. The surprising finalist of the Grand Slam of Darts in 2024 played 5 Euro Tour tournaments this year. Only at the European Darts Grand Prix did he manage to reach the quarterfinals, otherwise he reached the second round only once.