Preview Friday evening Poland Darts Open: Heta, De Decker, Van Duijvenbode, Cullen set to take to stage in Krakow

On Friday evening we continue with the first round of the Poland Darts Open in Krakow. The Polish city is hosting the very first Euro Tour event of this season, and it is also the first Euro Tour tournament ever in Poland.

As is customary on the Euro Tour, the field consists of 48 players. The top 16 on the seeding list go straight into the second round. The remaining 32 players start in the first round. Saturday features the second round, followed by the third round, quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final on Sunday. The winner of the Poland Darts Open will ultimately take home £35,000 in prize money.

The evening session of the first round also sees several big names on stage, including Dirk van Duijvenbode, Wessel Nijman, and Mike De Decker. Read on for our preview of the matches.

On the floor, Wessel Nijman already ranks among the absolute world elite. In this still early Pro Tour season, Nijman has already pocketed a floor title, and the Dutchman tends to go deep at these events. It is no coincidence he currently tops the Players Championship Order of Merit and sits second on the PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit. This year, Nijman needs to translate his floor form to the stage. He managed that in spells on the Euro Tour in 2025, including two semifinals. It is not a matter of if, but when Nijman reaches his first Euro Tour final.

He faces Thomas Lovely, one of the winners from the Tour Card Holders’ Qualifier. The Englishman has previously appeared at three Euro Tours, but is still seeking his first match win on this circuit.

We saw more of Daryl Gurney on our screens last season, and the upward trend appears to have continued for ‘Superchin’ in 2026, with a quarterfinal and a last-16 on the floor already. Last year, Gurney played twelve of the fourteen Euro Tours, registering a semifinal and a quarterfinal. The two-time major champion will want to improve on that this year.

Gurney opens the Poland Darts Open against Dawid Robak, one of two debutants in this session. Robak came through the Host Nation Qualifier, averaging 71, 77, and 89 in the process. Under normal circumstances, Gurney should win this one comfortably.

Thanks to strong Pro Tour results, Damon Heta held a firm spot in the world’s top 10 for a good while. ‘The Heat’ was never reliant on major performances, but lately Heta has also been less consistent on the Pro Tour. As a result, the Australian has slipped to 17th in the world rankings.

Connor Scutt is a dangerous opponent, as ‘The Sniper’ has repeatedly shown he is not afraid of taking out bigger names. The Englishman had a disappointing start to 2025, but rescued his season with qualification for the Grand Slam of Darts and the World Darts Championship. Notably, Scutt has won just one of his previous nine Euro Tour matches.

The headline act on Friday night is, of course, Krzysztof Ratajski. The 49-year-old has long been Poland’s best player and now gets to showcase his skills in front of a home crowd. ‘The Polish Eagle’ has put together an impressive PDC résumé. Two Euro Tours and nine floor titles adorn his honours list. This past December, Ratajski also impressed at the World Darts Championship, reaching the quarterfinals. Physical issues briefly dropped him outside the top 32, but he is on the way back up.

The draw paired Ratajski with Mickey Mansell. The methodical Northern Irishman rarely grabs headlines with his results, but he consistently does enough to keep his Tour Card without trouble. Later this year, Mansell will have a Grand Slam of Darts semifinal to defend, so qualifying for the World Darts Championship will be a must to ensure he retains his Tour Card next year.

The second and final Dutchman of this session is Dirk van Duijvenbode. After a 2024 plagued by a shoulder injury, 2025 was certainly better for Van Duijvenbode, but ‘Aubergenius’ is still not at the level he hit in his peak years. On the world rankings, Van Duijvenbode is currently 30th, which is frankly too low for someone with the capabilities of the thrower from ’s-Gravenzande.

Adam Gawlas has made an excellent start to his new Tour Card spell. The Czech lost his Tour Card for a year in 2025, but the 24-year-old won it back at Q-School in 2026. At Players Championship 1, Gawlas surprisingly reached the semi-finals, so Van Duijvenbode has been warned.

On paper, this might be the most intriguing clash of the evening. Niko Springer is Germany’s new top prospect, and he lived up to that billing in 2025 with a Euro Tour final defeat and a Euro Tour title. At the Grand Slam of Darts, the ‘Meenzer Bub’ impressed with wins over Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson, but his year ended on a low with a surprise first-round exit to Joe Comitio at the World Darts Championship.

The focus will also be on Cristo Reyes, the Spaniard who has returned to the PDC Tour after four years away. In his first month back, the Spaniard has already caught the eye by qualifying for three of the first four Euro Tours. Reyes has also managed to pick up valuable pounds on the floor.

Although Joe Cullen won two floor events in 2025, it was a year to forget quickly for ‘The Rockstar’. The Englishman was regularly dumped out early on the floor and failed to reach a single quarter-final at the majors. In the world rankings, Cullen, who in 2022 was one dart away from the Premier League title, no longer sits inside the top 32.

Krzysztof Kciuk is his opponent in the first round of this Euro Tour event. That means Cullen faces the best of the four Host Nation Qualifiers. Kciuk is not a high flyer, but he does have plenty of experience by now. He has already played four World Championships and held a PDC Tour Card from 2020 through 2023. This match will be extra special for Kciuk, as ‘The Thumb’ lives in the host city of Krakow.

This will be a crucial year for Mike De Decker, currently world number 19. In the autumn, the prize money from his World Grand Prix title drops off, and to avoid a major fall, ‘The Real Deal’ will need to deliver in 2026. His 2025 was downright disappointing. His season started promisingly with a Euro Tour final in Wieze, but that turned out to be his only real highlight. At the World Darts Championship, the Mechelen thrower suffered a huge blow with an embarrassing defeat to Kenyan David Munyua. The Belgian will hope he has now put that loss behind him.

Marvin Kraft is a new name on the Pro Tour in 2026. The German immediately qualified for the first Euro Tour event of 2026, which is already an impressive feat. On the floor it has been hard going so far for Kraft, who managed to win only one match across the first four Players Championship events.