The second round of the Swiss Darts Trophy got underway this afternoon in Basel with a string of surprises and solid performances as the seeded players entered the fray at the St. Jakobshalle.
Ratajski ends Swiss hopes
Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski put an early damper on local celebrations, dismantling host-nation qualifier Stefan Bellmont 6-2. Bellmont had delighted the Basel crowd on Friday by knocking out Andrew Gilding, but Ratajski was clinical from the outset, racing into a 5-0 lead before closing out the match in straight-forward fashion.
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Sedlacek upsets Nijman
Czech Republic’s Karel Sedlacek produced one of the afternoon’s biggest results, overcoming 11th seed Wessel Nijman 6-4. Nijman started brightly and was perfect on the doubles in the early stages, but Sedlacek grew into the contest and finished strongly to book his place in the last 16.
Cross holds off Woodhouse
Former world champion Rob Cross needed to dig deep to overcome Luke Woodhouse 6-4. Cross looked in complete control at 5-1, only for Woodhouse to fight back and make it interesting. Voltage eventually steadied the ship to progress.Schindler suffers early exit
German number one Martin Schindler endured a disappointing afternoon, falling 6-4 to English qualifier Tom Bissell. Bissell, ranked 75th in the world, proved too strong on the day and inflicted another European Tour setback on Schindler.
More darts seeded casualties
Ryan Searle (9) and Chris Dobey (10) also made early exits. Searle went down 6-4 to Spain’s Cristo Reyes, while Dobey was beaten by the same scoreline by Bradley Brooks.
Smiths progress
Ross Smith survived a high-scoring battle with William O’Connor, winning 6-4, while Michael Smith produced a vintage display to see off Jermaine Wattimena 6-4. The 2023 world champion looked sharp on his return to European Tour action, posting a strong average and some fine finishes.
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The last-16 line-up is beginning to take shape, with several big names still to play in this evening’s session. Attention now turns to the likes of Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Gian van Veen and defending champion Stephen Bunting as the Swiss Darts Trophy continues to deliver drama in Basel.
St. Jakobshalle, Basel – Saturday 10 October 2026
Images: PDC
