Niko Springer will begin the defence of his Hungarian Darts Trophy crown against Maik Kuivenhoven when the 2026 European Tour resumes at the MVM Dome this weekend.
Luke Humphries makes his European Tour return in the Hungarian capital as a star-studded 48-player field competes for the £35,000 top prize from August 28-30.Friday’s opening round features 16 matches across a double session, with the reigning champion aiming to recreate last year’s glory.
The 26-year-old defeated Gian van Veen, Damon Heta, Rob Cross, Humphries, Josh Rock and Danny Noppert en route to the title 12 months ago and now faces Dutch opponent Kuivenhoven in the first round.Beau Greaves is set to make history as the first woman to compete in a European Tour event.
The Doncaster player and three-time Women’s World Matchplay champion faces a stern debut test against 2017/18 World Champion Rob Cross.
Former Hungarian Darts Trophy winners Joe Cullen and Dave Chisnall take on Adam Leek and Andras Borbely respectively, while Australian number one Damon Heta meets James Hurrell.
German number one Martin Schindler faces Ireland’s Keane Barry, and Krzysztof Ratajski begins his bid for back-to-back European Tour titles against Callan Rydz.Elsewhere, two-time European Tour finalist Ryan Joyce meets Spanish star Cristo Reyes, and Cameron Menzies locks horns with Tom Sykes.
The top 16 players on the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder enter the tournament in round two on Saturday. Top seed Humphries, returning to the European Tour for the first time since March’s Belgian Darts Open and fresh from Players Championship 28 glory in Leicester, faces a potential meeting with World Matchplay semi-finalist Dirk van Duijvenbode, who takes on Czechia’s David Pisek in the opening round.
Dutch number one Gian van Veen will play fellow countryman Niels Zonneveld or Host Nation qualifier Nandor Major. Michael van Gerwen starts his bid for a second Hungarian Darts Trophy title against the winner of Heta or Hurrell.
Fourth seed Jonny Clayton enters against Daryl Gurney or Laszlo Kadar, while Schindler or Barry await newly crowned Australian Darts Masters champion James Wade on Saturday evening.
Austrian Darts Open champion Josh Rock has been drawn against Cullen or Leek. Kevin Doets faces Finland’s Jonas Masalin for the right to meet Stephen Bunting.
Last year’s runner-up Danny Noppert must negotiate a tie against 2024 European Champion Ritchie Edhouse or Connor Scutt, and Ryan Searle is drawn against Springer or Kuivenhoven.
Two-time World Champion Gary Anderson marks his return to European Tour action against Ratajski or Rydz, while Chris Dobey faces Menzies or Sykes for a place in the last 16.
Wessel Nijman opens his challenge for a third European Tour title of the year against Chisnall or Borbely, and Baltic Sea Darts Open winner Luke Woodhouse takes on Cross or Greaves for a spot at Finals Day.
After round two concludes, the last 16 will be contested on Sunday afternoon, with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final following in an action-packed evening session.
Images: PDC Europe
