The second round of the ČEZ Czech Darts Open got underway with a bang on Saturday afternoon at PVA Expo Praha, delivering shocks, high averages and last-leg tension as the last 16 began to take shape at the 12th European Tour event of 2026. Five seeds exited early, while several unseeded players and in-form names booked their places for Sunday.
Krzysztof Ratajski produced a clinical performance to dismantle 16th seed Jermaine Wattimena 6-2, averaging a strong 101.53. The Pole continues his solid European Tour form and will be a tough out later in the weekend. It was William O’Connor who had caused the first seed upset of the session, seeing off Ryan Searle 6-4 in a tight contest. The Irishman often seems to punch above his weight on the Euro Tour stage.
Another Winmau man, Danny Noppert, looked in fine form as he whitewashed fellow Dutchman Kevin Doets 6-1, posting a superb 101.34 average. “The Freeze” was clinical and progresses comfortably.
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Popular Scot Cameron Menzies produced one of the standout performances of the session, averaging 95.82 to defeat an off-colour Gary Anderson 6-3. The Scot was full of confidence after his opening-round win and moves into the last 16.
Wessel Nijman came through a thriller against home favourite Martin Schindler, winning 6-5 after the German missed match darts. Nijman just edged a high-quality encounter and remains one of the form players of the Euro Tour season. Keane Barry continued his giant-killing run, following up his Friday win over Rob Cross with a 6-4 victory against 13th seed Chris Dobey – another seeded scalp for the Irishman.
Ross Smith was ruthless, thrashing Stephen Burton 6-1 with a 97.70 average. The Englishman looks sharp after recent success and advances with ease. Andrew Gilding raced into a 5-0 lead before completing a 6-2 win over 16th seed Nathan Aspinall. A strong statement from “Goldfinger”.
Afternoon session results (Round 2)
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
Wessel Nijman 6-5 Martin Schindler
Keane Barry 6-4 Chris Dobey
Ross Smith 6-1 Stephen Burton
Andrew Gilding 6-2 Nathan Aspinall
The last 16 from the afternoon half is now set, featuring a mix of seeded survivors (Noppert, Nijman, Smith) and dangerous outsiders (Ratajski, O’Connor, Menzies, Barry, Gilding).
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Attention now turns to the star-studded evening session (from 19:00 local / 18:00 BST), which features world number one Luke Littler’s European Tour return against Niko Springer, two-time defending champion Luke Humphries against history-maker Beau Greaves, Michael van Gerwen, Gian van Veen, Gerwyn Price and more.
Expect fireworks under the lights in Prague.
Images: PDC Europe /
