Curse Ended! Blockbuster Matchups Set As European Darts Championship 2026 Enters Day 3
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Van Veen Breaks Westfalenhallen Curse but Now Faces Nine-Dart Hero
After an opening round in which three of the world’s top five seeds suffered shocking exits, the 2026 European Darts Championship now moves into a gruelling best-of-19-legs second round this afternoon in Dortmund.
With the usual hierarchy already in tatters, Saturday promises another explosive day of action as the defending champion fights to retain his crown, a teenage sensation looks to make his mark on the big stage, and a fearless giant-killer targets another major scalp.
History was stacked firmly against the reigning champion Gian van Veen in R1, but the Dutch number one proved he is not ready to surrender his crown just yet, as he overcame one of the tournament’s biggest historical hurdles, defeating Andrew Gilding 6-4 to banish the dreaded “defending champion’s curse.”
However, he now faces a dangerous afternoon clash against one of the most confident players in the world right now: Luke Woodhouse!
Woodhouse confirmed our darts predictions and set the tournament alight in the very first game of the week, sending the Westfalenhallen crowd into absolute raptures on Thursday night by pinning a stunning perfect nine-dart leg against the plucky Dirk van Duijvenbode.
As the format extends to a best-of-19-legs contest from Round 2 onward, Van Veen’s consistency will face a stern test against Woody’s ability to produce explosive scoring spells in what promises to be a genuinely absorbing afternoon session.
Round 2: Doets Marches Past MVG As Littler and Aspinall Prepare for Rematch
The tournament’s biggest upset - and potentially one of the PDC’s season’s defining moments - came courtesy of Dutch rising star Kevin Doets late on Friday night.
Making his European Championship debut in Dortmund, Doets produced a composed display to eliminate the PDC’s number-three-ranked player and four-time European champion Michael van Gerwen 6-3 in a stunning first-round encounter.
The debutant’s victory was no fluke either, as his relentless mid-90s average placed immediate pressure on a visibly struggling MVG, whose early exit blew his quarter of the draw wide open. Doets will now take on Krzysztof Ratajski in the second round in tonight’s evening session.
Saturday evening session features a pure box-office domestic rivalry!
World number one Luke Littler continues his quest for a maiden European Championship title, having confidently negotiated a tricky opening-round assignment against one of Ireland’s top players in the PDC rankings, William O’Connor.
The teenage sensation’s victory sees him enter Round 2 against a familiar foe in Nathan Aspinall, who made no mistake in getting the better of Cristo Reyes 6-3 on Friday. This is the 14th time that the Nuke and the Asp will meet in a major tournament since the start of last season.
Littler has dominated this matchup over the past two seasons, winning 11 of the 13 encounters, including the two this year. The Nuke defeated Aspinall 11-8 en route to the World Matchplay title in July before downing the 35-year-old 11-9 at the World Series Final last month.
