Thirteen Englishmen in Dortmund Part Two: Can anyone stop Littler from completing every major at European Championship?

Luke Littler looks to win every major darts offers albeit not this year, Nathan Aspinall will want to end his three-year major drought and looks set to do so after an impressive World Grand Prix as we look ahead to the English players at the European Championship Darts.

Winners of the European Championship aren’t always the best players on the European tour over the year, and after Dobey and Bunting’s year on the European tour, they will hope this statement remains true. Also, Rob Cross’s resurgence could be marked by a deep run here, while Joyce could put a cat amongst the pigeons after a steady 2026. So could all these players have built a strong case to go far in this tournament, or is the field simply too strong?

A strong World Grand Prix has shifted the perspective of the future for Nathan Aspinall, as before Leicester shouts for the Premier League seemed amateur, but after a record-breaking 105.15 average in a best-of-five double-in, double-out game, The Asp looked red hot. In honesty, red hot is the last superlative to use for Aspinall, as he played just 79 games all year and found it hard to maintain his practice. But a win ratio of 63% over the year suggests this has been the right call, and of the 28 games on the European Tour, the Stockport Star has impressed.

Winning European Tour 4 in April, Aspinall averaged 100+ in the semi-finals and finals to cruise to victory against an impressive Kevin Doets and Danny Noppert. Reaching the quarter-finals six times out of 11 events, Aspinall’s European form has been electric, averaging 100+ in nine European Tour matches. If you're going to skip games, you have to make the games you play count, and Aspinall has perfected this to an extent, with European Tour 15 being the greatest example of this: beating Michael Smith 6-1 in the last 32 with a 102.45 average, then averaging 90.98 in a 1-6 loss to Stephen Bunting, shows the adverse effects of his selective game management.

His World Grand Prix run showed this as well, where, after breaking records, his semi-final against Gerywn Price was mostly a write-off, averaging 84.63 across seven sets. This is worrying, but not yet completely tangible across a sustained time period, meaning his match against Cristo Reyes would be best explained by his yearly average. With Aspinall averaging 96.05 and 105.58 in his first nine, the Spaniard has his work cut out.

The Spartan has been quality since he gained his tour card this year, building strength by strength to put himself in pole position to qualify for majors like the Matchplay next year for the first time in 10 years. Seeded 27th, this doesn’t do Reyes much justice, considering his 94.08 yearly average and nine-dart finish at the Austrian Open have given him the confidence that any player looks beatable. Unless William O’Connor pulls off a miraculous win, Luke Littler will face the winner of this tie in the second round, and with both players experiencing clear strengths and flaws, can anyone stop The Nuke?

Every major is complete except Dortmund. Littler has won everything PDC darts has to offer except the European Championship. This type of pressure can’t be defined; Littler doesn’t want to wait another year; he wants to complete the set in 2026, in his third year on the circuit. Staying away from German European Tour events all year, Littler is forced to face the most hostile environment he’s faced yet, with 15,000 Germans ready to jeer him until he faults.

Nothing he has done in Europe, however, suggests he will falter, winning European Tour 1 and 12 and only losing in European Tour 3, meaning Littler has played 12 games on the European Tour and is seeded 11th. Averaging 100+ in 75% of his games on the European Tour, he’s playing at a standard that no one can touch, winning the World Championship, Masters, UK Open, Premier League and World Matchplay. It was only a month ago that Littler was in contention to win every major in 2026, and that looked plausible. Always under scrutiny by the crowd, how could his stats fluctuate in that environment?

Averaging 101.33 over the last 12 months with a 111.75 first nine, Littler has the tools to win every match convincingly and make history. Receiving abuse when representing England at the World Cup, Littler’s level didn’t change; it increased.

Showing signs of frustration throughout the weekend, he kept his nerves on the dartboard and won the World Cup, meaning that although the main talking point was the German crowd, it might not have impacted Littler enough to stop him from winning.

The World Cup was four months ago. The stats outlined are in the last 12 months. Last month, Littler has shown signs of dropping. Exiting the World Grand Prix to an unimpressive Luke Woodhouse and losing in the World Series of Darts Finals to the hands of Clayton, he has become beatable. These were major losses, but the loss to Cam Crabtree at the World Youth Championship Semi-finals might give O’Connor some hope.

With the veteran Irishman still looking to break into the top 32, the 22nd seed has built up his form over the last two years to start challenging seriously and an upset like this would build the momentum needed. Averaging 8.04 points lower than Littler this year, O’Connor’s first nine of 101.87 just about beat Littler’s standard average. In long formats, Littler’s a monster, winning 17 long-format games, averaging a mean of 103.28 in these. The Magpie has to catch Littler on a bad day to even have a chance, but in a short format, Littler on poor form and with a German crowd, these variables might be enough.

Strong doubling has always been Joyce’s strong point, and it continues to work in 2026. Seeded 15th and earning £68,000, Joyce hasn’t been spectacular, just good enough. Reaching the European Tour 8 final and reaching three quarter-finals, the Newcastle man is such tough competition in short formats. Missed doubles are made to know about it, as a checkout percentage of 42.58% and functional doubles (a player's checkout/double hit rate while disregarding missed individual darts at a double in situations where the miss does not allow the opponent back to the board ) of 51.66% is elite-level darts.

Out of the 37 games he’s played at the European Tour in 2026, Joyce has averaged 100 in two of them and lost both games, almost showing that when he plays well, he doesn’t get rewarded, so why should he? Speeding up his throw last week, Joyce looks rejuvenated with his approach to darts, and after starting to travel to all tournaments, he’s unlocking his full potential.

Playing in 13 events in 2026, Joyce has won 24 games, proving his quality in short-format games. But in first-to-eight-or-more games, Joyce has shown mixed form in long-form matches, losing three of the four he's played this year. 2-10 against an unstoppable Anderson, 4-8 in the European Tour 8 final and 7-10 at the UK Open against Keane Barry, even he would admit he could be better at long-format games.

Against Wattimena, the Dutchman is seeded 18th and has earned £5000 less than Joyce. 2024 finalist Wattimena hasn’t found major success since, and after 18 months of solid darts, the defending money could be an incentive to perform again.

Trebles for show, doubles for dough is the measure of this match, as Wattimena’s 103.48 first nine and 0.26 180s per leg could define the early stages of this match, as the Dutchman will need to gain a few legs' cushion if he wants to win this the easy way, as Joyce is best in defining moments, seen with eight of his wins coming in decisive legs. Whether the trebles can protect Wattimena’s dough is the question, as the winner has a huge task in the next round against either Nijman or Schindler.

Voltage has found a spark in the latter stages of 2026, returning to his old form to consolidate himself as someone to beat in majors. Two-time champion of this event hasn’t had a smooth ride to qualify, but the 20th seed won’t complain. Winning 18 matches in 29 games, he reached the European Tour 9 final, where he lost convincingly to Nijman; it proved the defining moment of his fightback.

Two European Tour semi-finals before that at even six and seven, Cross built on this success by winning Players Championship 22, ending a PDC title drought of over a year and personifying just how miserable 2025 was. In the last 12 months, he’s increased his average to an elite 95.72, showing he has much more depth than a 20th seed suggests.

A 105.95 average against Mario Vandenbogaerde and a 106.68 average against Jonny Clayton at European Tour 14 put him in good stead, but if the Clayton average results in a loss, he could find himself frustrated if a result doesn’t come soon. Cross’s problem so far has been losing to the elite players, rarely beating them when it matters most or on form and being drawn against Gerwyn Price will put this to the test.

If you could ask any player when they’d want to play Price, their answer wouldn’t be now. three runner-up finishes at the last three televised majors, Price is on a hot streak, failing at the last hurdle but acing the rest. Smashing Cross at the World Matchplay in July 11-5, Price leads Cross on almost every measure and arrives in Dortmund ready to win a title.

Cross will need to produce his European Tour 14 form if he wants to win this, and with a favourable second round being either recently crowned Dutch Darts Champion Niels Zonneveld or Cameron Menzies, both players know they have an opportunity to progress deep. Whether pressure gets to Price or inconsistency affects Cross will dictate the outcome of this game.

Hollywood’s European Tour season is the strangest of any Englishman in Dortmund. Across 14 events, Dobey has won more legs than he has lost, 126 to 119, yet he has a losing match record of 12 wins and 14 defeats, going out in his opening match seven times. The reason is the last leg. Losing five European Tour matches 6-5, including to Humphries in a quarter-final and to Aspinall in another, Dobey has been a leg away from a very different season. Away from Europe, the story changes completely, with 95 wins from 141 matches in 2026 and Players Championship titles in February and April, beating Bunting 8-1 and averaging 105.28 against Hood. Averaging 97.33 over the last 12 months, the third-highest average of the 13 English players behind only Littler and Humphries, Dobey is far better than his 23rd seed suggests.

Facing Rock, the seedings say Dobey is the underdog, but the numbers say otherwise. Out-averaging the Northern Irishman by 2.58 points and starting legs four points quicker, Dobey has also won two of their three meetings this year, including a 106.62 average in a 6-3 win at Players Championship 29. Rock’s biggest weakness is his throw against, winning only 36.71% of legs when throwing second, so Dobey can hold his own throw and wait for the breaks. The worry is recent form, with his last three events all ending in defeat, including a 79.93 average against Wattimena at the World Grand Prix. With Rock needing a big result for his Premier League hopes, the pressure sits with the higher seed. If Dobey’s 2026 level turns up, this could be the upset of the first round, if it is an upset at all. Can the lowest English seed cause one of his own?

Bunting left it late. Before last weekend in Maastricht, Bunting hadn’t gone beyond the last 16 of a European Tour event since February, losing his opening match in six of his 13 events and winning 10 matches out of 23. A semi-final secured his place in Dortmund, beating Menzies 6-2, Aspinall 6-1 and Heta 6-3, before Zonneveld ended the run 7-4 with Bunting averaging 86.07. It showed the level is still there, but one good weekend doesn’t erase a losing European Tour season, and whether he can produce that again five days later is the question.

On paper, Noppert and Bunting are close to level, with 0.27 points between their averages and a 1-1 head-to-head this year. Where it splits is at the end of the game. The Freeze wins 59.38% of his deciding legs, while Bunting wins 44.44%, so if this goes the distance the Dutchman is the favourite. Even a win brings bigger problems. Averaging 90.38 in his long-format matches this year, the lowest of the six, Bunting’s Matchplay ended with an 82.90 average in a 6-11 defeat to Rock, and round two means a best of 19 against Humphries or Searle. That is where the two halves of England’s campaign meet. Thirteen Englishmen arrive in Dortmund, and most will have gone by the weekend, so the question across both articles stays the same: can any of them stop Littler from completing the set?