James Wade produced an emphatic display to win the Blåkläder Flanders Darts Trophy, defeating Ross Smith 8-4 in the final in Antwerp to claim the first prize.
An all-English final brought the curtain down on a dramatic Antwerp weekend where the big names crashed out and two of the more experienced campaigners went all the way.
Wade was ruthless whitewashing Danny Noppert in the quarters and seeing off Damon Heta in the semis while Ross Smith produced a series of resilient performances, including a last-leg semi-final win over top seed Gian van Veen.
The pair met in the best-of-15 final for the £35,000 first prize amd it was The Machine who defeated Smudger Smith relatively comfortable.
The weekend was defined by upsets. Damon Heta knocked out Michael van Gerwen 6-5 in a high-quality, unbroken second-round thriller on Saturday (having already edged Beau Greaves the night before).
Ross Smith then eliminated Gerwyn Price 6-5 in the last 16, before an impressive win over Ryan Joyce in the quarter-final saw him through to the last four.
Nathan Aspinall produced the performance of Saturday night with a near-106 average in a 6-1 demolition of Niko Springer, but fell to Heta in the quarters.
Top seed van Veen survived a 106-average scare from Kevin Doets before his dramatic semi-final exit. Wade looked sharp and composed all day, while Smith showed the fight that has brought him European Tour success earlier in 2026.
With Luke Littler (defending champion) and Luke Humphries both absent, the path opened for a surprise winner — and the final delivered exactly that.
Prize money: Winner £35,000, runner-up £15,000, semi-finalists £10,000 each. Total fund £230,000.
The event was the 13th of 15 European Tour stops in 2026.Full results from finals day and key earlier matches are listed below.
Flanders Darts Trophy 2026 – Results
Final (best of 15 legs)
James Wade 8-4 Ross Smith
Semi-finals (best of 13 legs)
Ross Smith 7–6 Gian van Veen
James Wade 7–4 Damon Heta
Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs)
Gian van Veen 6–3 Chris Dobey
Ross Smith 6–5 Ryan Joyce
James Wade 6–0 Danny Noppert
Damon Heta 6–5 Nathan Aspinall
Last 16 (best of 11 legs)
Gian van Veen 6–5 Kevin Doets
Chris Dobey 6–5 Ryan Searle
Ryan Joyce 6–5 Jermaine Wattimena
Ross Smith 6–5 Gerwyn Price
James Wade 6–5 Rob Cross
Danny Noppert 6–4 Wessel Nijman
Damon Heta 6–3 Luke Woodhouse
Nathan Aspinall 6–4 Stephen Bunting
Selected earlier results of note
Damon Heta 6–5 Michael van Gerwen (R2)
Nathan Aspinall 6–1 Niko Springer (R2, avg ~106)
Ryan Joyce 6–3 Josh Rock (R2)
Gerwyn Price 6–3 Bradley Brooks (R2)
Images: PDC Europe
