Preview Poland Darts Open 2026 Saturday afternoon: Gary Anderson, James Wade and Nathan Aspinall all in action

This weekend, the Poland Darts Masters takes place in Krakow. It is the opening event of the European Tour 2026 and also the first time the European Tour stops in Poland. Saturday afternoon features the first matches of the second round.

The European Tour 2026 gets underway this weekend with the Poland Darts Masters, a tournament where the world's top three, Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gian van Veen, are in attendance. They will not make their first appearance until Saturday evening.

Saturday afternoon, the all-Dutch clash between Danny Noppert and Jermaine Wattimena draws the eye. Wessel Nijman, recently a Players Championship winner, against Gary Anderson also promises fireworks.

The second-round ties are best-of-11 legs. Below is a preview of the matches scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

The afternoon session in Krakow opens with Martin Schindler against Boris Krcmar. Schindler has already won three titles on the European Tour and was still the best last year at the Austrian Darts Open. “The Wall” currently sits inside the world’s top 16 and is the highest-ranked German.

Although Krcmar does not currently hold a PDC Tour Card, Schindler will be wary of the Croatian. In the first round, Krcmar showed his level by beating the experienced Englishman Ryan Joyce 6-3 with a three-figure average. Schindler does start with the mental edge. He has won all three of their previous meetings, although their last encounter dates back to 2023.

Next up is Chris Dobey. “Hollywood” proved this week that he is in form by winning the third Players Championship of the year. Dobey showed no mercy in the final, defeating compatriot Stephen Bunting 8-1. It was already his ninth Players Championship title. Remarkably, Dobey has never won a European Tour event. His best result came in 2019, when he lost the final at the Dutch Darts Open.

Dobey faces Connor Scutt in the first round. The 29-year-old Englishman impressed in the opener, defeating Damon Heta 6-4. Scutt has often shown his talent in the past, though his results have been very inconsistent. Dobey and Scutt have met three times before, with Dobey leading 2-1, although Scutt won their most recent meeting last year.

Nathan Aspinall versus Darryl Pilgrim brings another all-English matchup. “The Asp” needs little introduction. The 12th seed from Stockport won three European Tour events last year and is determined to at least match that this season. Aspinall was not selected for the Premier League Darts and is therefore extra motivated to prove the PDC bosses wrong.

In his opener, Aspinall faces Pilgrim, who only secured his PDC Tour Card early last year and has since climbed to 74th in the world rankings. Pilgrim beat the experienced Dave Chisnall 6-4 in the first round, though he will likely need to raise his game to trouble Aspinall. This is their first meeting.

Danny Noppert and Jermaine Wattimena square off in a full Dutch clash. After an excellent 2025, Noppert enters this tournament as the 10th seed. “The Freeze” has already won five Players Championship titles in his career but is still chasing a first European Tour crown.

At the Poland Darts Masters, he must first get past Wattimena, who, like Noppert, enjoyed a strong year. “The Machine Gun” won two Players Championships last season but, like Noppert, is still waiting for a maiden European Tour title. Their head-to-head is currently tied at 5-5, so this duel promises to be tight.

Next up is Wessel Nijman, the third Dutchman in action this afternoon. The 25-year-old started the new season superbly with a title at Players Championship 2. Nijman has become one of the top floor players, but now wants to translate that to the TV events, where he has struggled in the past. Nijman never hit his top level in his opener but still beat Englishman Thomas Lovely comfortably.

He will likely need to be better against Gary Anderson. At his best, the 55-year-old Scot remains an elite performer. Anderson reached the semi-finals at the last World Darts Championship and won the European Darts Grand Prix last year. Anderson starts the Poland Darts Open as the sixth seed. Still, Nijman carries a mental edge into this one, having played Anderson three times and won each time.

James Wade has also tasted success at the Players Championship this season, winning the very first event of the new campaign. At 42, after more than two decades at the top, Wade is still right there. Last year he even reached two major finals. Yet, to his own frustration, he was not selected for the Premier League Darts. Fired up by a desire for redemption, Wade is especially dangerous.

In his opening match at the Poland Darts Masters, Wade faces Cameron Menzies. The 36-year-old Scot drew negative attention at the last World Darts Championship when, after his 3-2 first-round defeat to Charlie Manby, he smashed his table to pieces. Menzies recently revealed he still has no feeling in parts of his fingers. Menzies and Wade have met twelve times before, and the head-to-head currently stands at 6-6.

The penultimate match of the afternoon session features Ross Smith against Daryl Gurney. Smith enters the tournament as the 16th seed. “Smudger” has already won a major and titles on the Players Championship, but is still waiting for a first title on the European Tour.

In his opener, Smith takes on Gurney, who won 6-1 in the first round against Polish qualifier Dawid Robak. Last year, Gurney made headlines by winning the World Cup of Darts alongside Josh Rock. It gave his career a fresh boost and he has been playing strongly ever since. There is very little between the pair, although Gurney does lead the head-to-head 7-3.

The afternoon session in Krakow wraps up with Ryan Searle against Cristo Reyes. Earlier this year, Searle surprisingly reached the semi-finals at the World Darts Championship and comes into this tournament as the eighth seed.

Even so, Searle has not exactly been fortunate with the draw. Reyes returned at the start of this season as a PDC Tour Card holder after several years away and immediately showed at recent Players Championships what he can do. He piled up big averages and has already qualified for several European Tour events. Searle does hold a mental edge, having beaten Reyes 6-4 at the Players Championship just two weeks ago.