Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki and th home nation’s Kim Huybrechts and Andy Baetens celebrated success on the opening day of the 2026 Lecot Belgian Darts Open, as a host of big names suffered early exits in Wieze.
Day One of the year’s third European Tour event saw 16 opening round matches take place at the Oktoberhallen, with Huybrechts and Baetens taking centre stage on home soil.
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However, two-time European Tour winner Huybrechts was arguably Friday’s stand-out performer, averaging 101.76 to record a terrific 6-4 victory over Germany’s Niko Springer.
“This is what you play darts for,” reflected Belgium’s former World Cup finalist, who will go head-to-head with Josh Rock in round two.
“The feeling you get when you play in front of your home crowd and you win – this is amazing.
“I’m feeling really good lately. I’m working very hard on my game with Eric [Clarys], and you have to work hard to be at the top level.”
Baetens also delivered the goods on home soil, defying a 101 average from Joe Cullen to deny the former Masters champion in a last-leg thriller, which sets up a meeting with fifth seed Stephen Bunting.
Cullen was one of several high-profile names to exit in Wieze, as Wessel Nijman’s bid for back-to-back European Tour titles was thwarted by Poland’s number two Sebastian Bialecki.
The Bolt produced an impressive all-round display to topple the newly crowned European Darts Trophy champion, averaging 99.78 to create a tussle against Premier League table-topper Jonny Clayton.
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Raymond van Barneveld was another big-name casualty, as the five-time World Champion’s first European Tour appearance of 2026 culminated in a chastening 6-1 defeat at the hands of Boris Krcmar.
The enigmatic Croatian reaffirmed his big stage pedigree, averaging 101 and landing 116 and 121 finishes to set up a fascinating showdown against reigning champion Luke Littler.
Mickey Mansell also landed two ton-plus checkouts – including a sublime 161 outshot – in his 6-3 win over Michael Smith, and the Irishman now faces another former World Champion in Michael van Gerwen.
Cristo Reyes produced a magical moment of his own to seal a 6-4 victory over Krzysztof Ratajski, piling in a 160 outshot to triumph with a 102 average and advance to a meeting with James Wade.
European Darts Trophy semi-finalist Niels Zonneveld also averaged over a ton in defeating the returning Jani Haavisto, which sets up an intriguing clash against Belgian number one Mike De Decker.
Dirk van Duijvenbode will renew his rivalry with world number two Luke Humphries in another stellar showdown on Saturday evening, courtesy of his resounding 6-3 win over Germany’s Lukas Wenig.
Dave Chisnall produced a five-leg burst to complete a 6-2 success against France’s Thibault Tricole, while Ricky Evans accounted for Scott Williams by the same scoreline earlier in the day.
Chisnall – a winner of eight European Tour titles – now faces Chris Dobey for a place in the last 16, while Evans’ reward is a tussle against World Championship semi-finalist Ryan Searle.
Daryl Gurney dispatched Ian White 6-1 in a battle of the former European Tour winners, and the Northern Irishman now locks horns with Australian number one Damon Heta for a place at Finals Day.
Ryan Joyce will face Nathan Aspinall in a repeat of last year’s European Darts Trophy final tomorrow afternoon, after overcoming Czechia’s Adam Gawlas in a hard-fought contest.
Elsewhere, Host Nation representatives Pascal Devroey and Francois Schweyen were unable to join Huybrechts and Baetens in Saturday’s action, losing out to Luke Woodhouse and Ryan Meikle earlier in the day.
William O’Connor and Cameron Menzies will complete the round two line-up, after closing out emphatic 6-1 wins over debutants Tyler Thorpe and Sietse Lap respectively.
German number one Martin Schindler awaits O’Connor for a place in round three, while Menzies will play former European Champion Ross Smith in Saturday’s opening fixture.
Saturday’s double session will see the top 16 players on the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder enter the fray, with Littler, Humphries and Van Gerwen amongst the star attractions at the Oktoberhallen.
Live coverage of the Belgian Darts Open is being broadcast on VTM in Belgium, and streamed on DAZN for viewers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Additionally, coverage is being shown on CANAL+ SPORT 5 and via the CANAL+ streaming service in Poland, on PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and through bookmakers’ worldwide.
Click here for match stats & results.
2026 Lecot Belgian Darts Open
Friday March 20
Round One
Afternoon Session
Niels Zonneveld 6-4 Jani Haavisto
Luke Woodhouse 6-2 Pascal Devroey
Ricky Evans 6-2 Scott Williams
Ryan Joyce 6-4 Adam Gawlas
Cameron Menzies 6-1 Sietse Lap
William O’Connor 6-1 Tyler Thorpe
Ryan Meikle 6-4 Francois Schweyen
Mickey Mansell 6-3 Michael Smith
Evening Session
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Thibault Tricole
Cristo Reyes 6-4 Krzysztof Ratajski
Andy Baetens 6-5 Joe Cullen
Sebastian Bialecki 6-3 Wessel Nijman
Boris Krcmar 6-1 Raymond van Barneveld
Daryl Gurney 6-1 Ian White
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Niko Springer
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Lukas Wenig
Saturday March 21
Round Two
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 GMT)
Ross Smith v Cameron Menzies
Jermaine Wattimena v Ryan Meikle
Chris Dobey v Dave Chisnall
Ryan Searle v Ricky Evans
Martin Schindler v William O’Connor
Damon Heta v Daryl Gurney
Danny Noppert v Luke Woodhouse
Nathan Aspinall v Ryan Joyce
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 GMT)
James Wade v Cristo Reyes
Jonny Clayton v Sebastian Bialecki
Stephen Bunting v Andy Baetens
Mike De Decker v Niels Zonneveld
Luke Littler v Boris Krcmar
Luke Humphries v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Michael van Gerwen v Mickey Mansell
Josh Rock v Kim Huybrechts
——-ENDS—–
Jenny Segers/PDC Europe
