Springer books World Grand Prix ticket, record chase on the European Tour & mystery around Klaasen's new manag

Darts news from 11 September 2026: Niko Springer secures the World Grand Prix ticket in Antwerp, Cross knocks Reyes out, European Tour heading for a winners' record.

The key stories of the day

Friday in darts revolved entirely around the handing out of the last tickets for the World Grand Prix. In Antwerp the Flanders Darts Trophy got under way, the final ranking event before the Double-In major in Leicester – and even the afternoon session had consequences: Niko Springer has mathematically secured his place at the World Grand Prix with his opening win. In the evening Rob Cross sent bubble man Cristo Reyes home 6:3, while Gabriel Clemens was tested by Cameron Menzies late in the programme. Away from the stage, the news about Jelle Klaasen raised eyebrows: the former Lakeside world champion has a new management agency even though he rules out a full-time return to the tour. And the statisticians have done the maths: the 2026 European Tour is heading for a historic record number of different winners.

Darts in Germany: Springer in cruise mode, Clemens under pressure, Schindler waiting

Niko Springer has had a good day. The German swept Belgian host nation qualifier Jaimy Jacobs off the stage 6:1 without having to go to his limit: an Average of 81.51 sounds unspectacular, and Springer did indeed waste 29 darts at the Doubles – but Jacobs was never equal to the pressure of the big stage. Springer broke the Belgian early with a 52 finish on Double 16 for 2:0, pulled away to 4:0, answered his opponent's only Leg with a 12-darter and ended the match with a 94 Checkout. A gulf in class rather than a showpiece – for an opening round that is more than enough.

Far more important than the result is what follows from it: before the tournament Springer was right in the middle of the scrap for the last Grand Prix places on the ProTour Order of Merit. With the prize money from Antwerp his participation in the World Grand Prix is now mathematically safe – the Mainz man can play with freedom against Nathan Aspinall in the second round on Saturday.

For Gabriel Clemens it was a Friday with question marks. The man from Saarland only came into the field as the first reserve off the standby list. In the evening session he took on Cameron Menzies – the Scot who sits so far up the ProTour ranking that he is all but certain of a Grand Prix spot. For Clemens himself, Leicester would only be reachable by winning the tournament; realistically, Antwerp is about prize money and confidence. The winner of this duel meets top seed Gian van Veen on Saturday.

Martin Schindler only enters as a seeded player tomorrow – and since the evening he knows his opponent: it is Rob Cross, who beat Cristo Reyes today. For Schindler there is more at stake than a second-round win: to keep any chance of the Grand Prix alive he would have to reach at least the quarter-finals in Antwerp. An awkward task for the best German player in the world rankings.

Story of the day: the big nail-biter for Leicester

The Flanders Darts Trophy is more than a European Tour event – it is the last qualifying event for the World Grand Prix. 32 players get to compete at the Double-In major: the top 16 of the Order of Merit plus the 16 best players on the ProTour Order of Merit who have not already qualified. 27 places have already been taken, among them those of defending champion Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Gary Anderson. Five places will be decided this weekend in Antwerp.

The situation: via the main ranking, Jermaine Wattimena in 17th only has a chance if he wins the title – he is £19,250 behind Nathan Aspinall in 16th. In the ProTour standings things get really tight below twelfth place: Dave Chisnall, Springer and Joe Cullen are only a few thousand pounds above the line, Cristo Reyes occupied the last provisional spot with a lead of just £500. Behind them Kim Huybrechts and Sebastian Bialecki are lurking.

Today's play has already changed the maths. Springer is through. Reyes, on the other hand, took a first-round defeat against Cross and goes into the weekend without extra prize money – his hope now rests solely on the rest slipping up. In the evening session Joe Cullen needed every point against Belgian qualifier Andy Baetens, after all a former WDF world champion. And for Kim Huybrechts and Sebastian Bialecki their head-to-head in the evening was a final for Grand Prix hopes: only the one who goes through still has a mathematical chance. Beau Greaves, the first woman to win on the European Tour, would have to win the tournament to reach Leicester – her opening hurdle in the evening was Damon Heta, with the winner meeting Michael van Gerwen on Saturday. Belgium's Mike De Decker, who would likewise only have made it with the title, is not in the field.

Antwerp in brief: the first-round results

The afternoon session at the Antwerp Expo delivered two surprises and several comebacks. Andrew Gilding, one of the established names on the ProTour ranking, lost 5:6 to Chris Landman – the Dutchman led 4:1, let Gilding back in at 4:4 and held his nerve in the decider. Ryan Joyce trailed Stephen Burton 2:4, levelled with a 130 finish and won the decider. Niels Zonneveld started 0:3 down against debutant Petr Tous and then won six Legs in a row. Kevin Doets produced one of the best performances of the session with a 99.29 Average in his 6:1 against James Hurrell, and Jeffrey de Graaf came through the decider on Double 10 against Jeroen Caron. In the evening Rob Cross opened with a 6:3 against Cristo Reyes.

Niels Zonneveld 6:3 Petr Tous
Bradley Brooks 6:4 Mickey Mansell
Chris Landman 6:5 Andrew Gilding
Kevin Doets 6:1 James Hurrell
Karel Sedláček 6:2 Michael Hansen
Jeffrey de Graaf 6:5 Jeroen Caron
Ryan Joyce 6:5 Stephen Burton
Niko Springer 6:1 Jaimy Jacobs
Rob Cross 6:3 Cristo Reyes

The other evening matches – Cullen against Baetens, Menzies against Clemens, O'Connor against Lankhuizen, van Barneveld against Jim Long, Heta against Greaves, Bialecki against Huybrechts and van Duijvenbode against Dolan – were still in progress at the time of going to press. We cover the tournament in detail in our separate tournament article.

Numbers game: the European Tour on the brink of a historic record

An analysis published today highlights a trend that is easily lost in the results lists: the 2026 European Tour is as unpredictable as it has rarely been. After twelve of 15 events there are already nine different winners – Luke Littler, Wessel Nijman and Ross Smith with two titles each, plus Luke Humphries, Nathan Aspinall, Gerwyn Price, Josh Rock, Luke Woodhouse and Krzysztof Ratajski with one apiece. The record stands at eleven different champions in a season; two new winners in Antwerp, at the Swiss Darts Trophy or at the Dutch Darts Championship would match that mark. The record is within reach among the finalists too: 18 different finalists are on the books, the best mark is 20. With several top players missing in Antwerp, the door is open wider than usual this weekend.

Briefly noted

Jelle Klaasen and the management riddle: the 2006 Lakeside world champion has a new agency at his side in MAG Darts – even though he has publicly stated that he is not aiming for a full-time return to the PDC Tour and would probably even turn down a Tour Card. Klaasen is battling dystonia and wants to focus on the MODUS Super Series, WDF and Challenge Tour. Vincent van der Voort openly wondered on the podcast “Darts Draait Door” what the point of the partnership is: anyone playing only on the secondary tours barely earns money once travel costs, hotel bills and days off work are taken into account – “it looks like charity”. His conclusion: “Maybe there is something we don't know.”

Adrian Lewis and the nine-darter with someone else's darts: the two-time world champion told today of a curious experience at his board at home. After around three weeks off he found darts in his board that his father had left there – a set belonging to Nathan Aspinall – and after a few warm-up throws promptly threw 180, 180, T20, T19, D12 with them. “I couldn't believe it myself, to be honest,” said the 41-year-old, who has only played exhibitions since stepping back from the tour: “That was more luck than skill.”

MODUS Super Series: Van den Herik, Lane and Munyua set the tone in Portsmouth

In week six of the MODUS Super Series the Live Lounge in Portsmouth served up a packed programme on Friday too. Jamai van den Herik was the man of the day with wins over George Killington (4:3), John O'Shea (4:1) and James Hubbard (4:1); Hubbard beat Ram Guevara Jr. (4:1) and Killington (4:1), while Guevara in turn won against O'Shea (4:2) and Killington (4:1). In the second block Kevin Lane brought home four wins – including a 4:0 against Kevin Painter and a 4:3 against David Munyua – and had to bow only to Patrick Dekker (1:4). Munyua also won four matches, including the tight duels against Mawson (4:3), Painter (4:3) and Dekker (4:2), while Kevin Edwards managed three wins. All the details are in our own MODUS article.

Coming up tomorrow

On Saturday the 16 seeded players enter in Antwerp: Niko Springer faces Nathan Aspinall, Martin Schindler faces Rob Cross, the winner of Menzies against Clemens meets Gian van Veen, and Michael van Gerwen takes on the winner of Heta against Greaves. Also on the schedule are Josh Rock against Ryan Joyce, Krzysztof Ratajski against Kevin Doets, Danny Noppert against Chris Landman and Gerwyn Price against Bradley Brooks, among others. In Portsmouth, Saturday brings the Finals Night of the MODUS Super Series.