Darts’ Lukes, Humphries and Littler, returned to winning ways on the European Tour as the 2026 ČEZ Czech Darts Open produced a high-quality Saturday of action at the PVA Expo in Prague.
World number two Humphries, a three-time champion of this event, opened his account in emphatic fashion with a 6-2 victory over history-maker Beau Greaves.
The young Englishwoman had become the first woman to win a match on the European Tour stage earlier in the week, but Humphries averaged just shy of 109 to book his place in the last 16.
Greaves took the opening leg in 13 darts and later reduced the deficit to one, only for Humphries to pull clear with three consecutive legs. He will face Andrew Gilding on Sunday after the former UK Open champion raced to a 5-0 lead before sealing a 6-2 win over Nathan Aspinall with a 122 checkout.
World number one Littler made an impressive return to the European Tour, posting a stunning 108.59 average in a 6-4 win over Germany’s Niko Springer.
The Matchplay champion, appearing in his first major stage event since retaining the World Matchplay title, had to dig deep after leading 5-2 only for Springer to level at 5-4. Littler next faces Krzysztof Ratajski, who earlier defeated Jermaine Wattimena 6-2.
Elsewhere, Gian van Veen continued his dominance over Jeffrey de Graaf with a fourth consecutive 6-1 victory and will meet Ross Smith, who brushed aside Stephen Burton by the same scoreline.
Welsh pair Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price both progressed 6-2, Clayton producing finishes of 156 and 124 against Damon Heta, while Price averaged over 103 in his win over Callan Rydz. Price faces Cameron Menzies (6-3 over Gary Anderson) and Clayton takes on Keane Barry (6-4 over Chris Dobey).
Michael van Gerwen kept his hunt for a maiden Czech Darts Open title alive with a 6-4 success against Mario Vandenbogaerde and will meet fellow Dutchman Wessel Nijman, who edged Martin Schindler in a deciding leg after the German hit a 170 checkout.
Josh Rock and William O’Connor set up an all-island clash after wins over Ryan Joyce and Ryan Searle respectively, while Luke Woodhouse closed the evening session with a 6-4 victory over Stephen Bunting (averaging over 105) and will face Danny Noppert (6-1 over Kevin Doets).
Sunday’s schedule features the last 16 in the afternoon followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final in a bumper evening session, with Humphries chasing a third successive title in Prague.
2026 ČEZ Czech Darts Open
Saturday September 5
Round Two Afternoon Session
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-2 Jermaine Wattimena
William O’Connor 6-4 Ryan Searle
Danny Noppert 6-1 Kevin Doets
Cameron Menzies 6-3 Gary Anderson
Keane Barry 6-4 Chris Dobey
Ross Smith 6-1 Stephen Burton
Andrew Gilding 6-2 Nathan Aspinall
Wessel Nijman 6-5 Martin Schindler
Evening Session
Gian van Veen 6-1 Jeffrey de Graaf
Jonny Clayton 6-2 Damon Heta
Gerwyn Price 6-2 Callan Rydz
Luke Littler 6-4 Niko Springer
Luke Humphries 6-2 Beau Greaves
Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Josh Rock 6-3 Ryan Joyce
Luke Woodhouse 6-4 Stephen Bunting
Sunday September 6
Round Three Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Gerwyn Price v Cameron Menzies
Gian van Veen v Ross Smith
Josh Rock v William O’Connor
Luke Humphries v Andrew Gilding
Jonny Clayton v Keane Barry
Michael van Gerwen v Wessel Nijman
Luke Woodhouse v Danny Noppert
Luke Littler v Krzysztof Ratajski
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Images: PDC Europe
