Cross takes a dig at Schindler, Asian Tour awards five World Championship tickets & van Veen's new stance at t

Darts news from 13.09.2026: Rob Cross takes a dig at Martin Schindler, the Asian Tour awards five World Championship tickets, van Veen explains his new stance & Antwerp in brief.

The key stories of the day

Rob Cross hits out after his 6:4 win over Martin Schindler – and Schindler misses out on the World Grand Prix.
The PDC Asian Tour is over: Lok Yin Lee and Alexis Toylo win the two Sunday events in Hainan, five World Championship tickets have been handed out.
Gian van Veen explains why he is suddenly hitting his Doubles again in Antwerp: a change to the stance, not the throw.
Stephen Bunting talks about the pressure in the race for the European Championship in Dortmund – and goes out against Nathan Aspinall.
MODUS Super Series: Fallon Sherrock and Benito van de Pas headline the field for week 7 in Portsmouth.

Story of the day: Cross settles the score – and Schindler stays away from Leicester

It was the quote of the day, and it came with notice. Rob Cross spoke today about his 6:4 win over Martin Schindler in round two of the Flanders Darts Trophy – and sounded far less diplomatic than we are used to from the former world champion. “I had a spell like that in the middle there; Martin had no answer, and I felt I was the aggressor in the game,” Cross analysed matter-of-factly at first. Then came the line that did the rounds in the German darts scene today: “But most of all I'm glad that Martin apparently doesn't handle pressure particularly well.”

Cross did follow it up with a more conciliatory note – “Of course there's an enormous amount of pressure on you, and maybe it all just got too much for him in that moment” – but the sting remains. Because in Antwerp, Schindler was playing for far more than a place on finals day: the man from Strausberg needed a strong result to force his way into the field for the World Grand Prix in Leicester. With an Average of 84,67 and a missed 60 finish that Cross punished immediately, that route was closed. With the Flanders Darts Trophy over, the race for the 32 places at the Double-in Double-out major is effectively decided today – and Schindler is not on the list.

That is remarkable, because “The Wall” was for years the most reliable German major participant and regularly played his way to Leicester via the European Tour. That consistency is gone this season. At least there is Niko Springer, who already has his Leicester ticket in the bag and will represent the German colours at the World Grand Prix – Cross himself called him the player who is now “holding the flag up for Germany”. The roles in German darts are visibly shifting, and Cross' dig should serve Schindler as extra motivation in the coming weeks.

Asian Tour: five World Championship tickets handed out, Toylo and Lee take the Sunday titles

While Europe was looking at Antwerp, a dream came true for five players in Hainan. The PDC Asian Tour 2026 came to an end today with events 27 and 28, which means the five Asian qualifiers for the World Championship at Alexandra Palace are confirmed.

Event 27 went to Lok Yin Lee from Hong Kong, who celebrated his third title of the season with a 5:2 win over Christian de los Reyes in the final. The closing event 28 was claimed by Alexis Toylo with a 5:3 against his Filipino compatriot Lourence Ilagan – a title that was also decisive for the ranking, as Toylo had gone into the tournament only eighth in the Order of Merit. For Motomu Sakai, Christian Perez and Haruki Muramatsu the final tournament of the year was valuable in another respect: all three sealed their World Championship qualification during event 28. Lok Yin Lee benefited from Paolo Nebrida going out in the quarter-finals – which settled the fifth place as well.

The five Asian World Championship entrants at a glance:

Ryuta Arihara (Japan) – winner of the Asian Tour Order of Merit, plus a free entry into Q-School Stage Two
Motomu Sakai (Japan) – qualification secured today in event 28
Christian Perez (Philippines) – back at the Ally Pally
Haruki Muramatsu (Japan) – the veteran is there again
Lok Yin Lee (Hong Kong) – ticket confirmed thanks to Nebrida's quarter-final exit

Japan therefore provide three of the five Asian World Championship starters – a clear statement about the strength of the Japanese scene. There is one footnote, though: Sakai also leads the Japan Tour in parallel. If he wins there, his Asian Tour place passes on – and Nebrida would get in after all.

Van Veen: “Not in the throw, just in the stance”

The world number three explained today why he suddenly looks like the Gian van Veen of his best days in Antwerp. After his Average of 101 against Gabriel Clemens, the Dutchman talked about a change his manager had identified in practice. “Not in my throw, just in my stance at the Oche – and today it worked,” said van Veen. Specifically it is about body tension and foot position: “I try to keep the body loose, to put the left foot down straight on the floor and not to go into the throw with my shoulder.”

He describes the effect above all on the high Doubles: “Normally I feel like I'm pulling the dart down. Not today – and that gives me so much more confidence.” His conclusion: “I can feel it coming.” Sunday's numbers back that up: 75 per cent on the Doubles against Kevin Doets, plus a quarter-final win over Chris Dobey in which he withstood an Average of 102,91 from his opponent.

Bunting: eyes shut and on towards Dortmund

Stephen Bunting experienced two sides of a tournament day today. In the last 16 of the Flanders Darts Trophy it was the end of the road against Nathan Aspinall at 4:6 – and that despite the fact that the “Bullet” had opened with a 158 finish and led 3:0. Aspinall turned the match around with finishes of 72, 65 and 95. At the same time Bunting offered an insight into his head today that shows how tight it is at the top of the world.

Asked about the decisive dart at Double 16 for the win over Brendan Dolan that had got him into the last 16 in the first place, Bunting replied drily: “Yes, I closed my eyes.” Dolan was “a fantastic player” – “I just didn't know he'd be that dangerous. At some point I looked at his Average, and I think he was over 100. That's when I knew I was in a real match.” On the rankings he admitted: “I can say I don't look, but of course I do.” With the prize money from Antwerp, Bunting has moved ahead of Joe Cullen for now in the race for the European Championship in Dortmund. His verdict, half serious, half gallows humour: “I've been playing good darts lately and not winning. So it's time to play badly and pick up a few wins.”

Flanders Darts Trophy in brief: van Veen in the semi-finals, Price out

We are publishing a separate, detailed tournament report on the Flanders Darts Trophy – which is why only the key facts from Sunday are here. The afternoon session in Antwerp was a decider festival: five of the eight last-16 matches went the full distance.

Gian van Veen 6:5 Kevin Doets (Doets with a 106,24 Average, van Veen takes the decider via T18 and D6)
Chris Dobey 6:5 Ryan Searle (Searle misses two match darts)
Ryan Joyce 6:5 Jermaine Wattimena (Wattimena with a 144 finish and two match darts at Tops, Joyce checks out 70)
Ross Smith 6:5 Gerwyn Price (Smith with finishes of 142, 106 and 158, Price comes back from 1:4 to 4:4)
James Wade 6:5 Rob Cross (Wade with a 101,59 Average and six 180s, Cross with a 160 finish)
Danny Noppert 6:4 Wessel Nijman (Noppert opens with a 137 finish)
Damon Heta 6:3 Luke Woodhouse (Woodhouse loses despite a 102,97 Average)
Nathan Aspinall 6:4 Stephen Bunting

In the quarter-finals top seed Gian van Veen confirmed his role as favourite and beat Chris Dobey 6:3. Gerwyn Price's exit was the biggest surprise of the afternoon. At the time of going to press, the remaining quarter-finals Joyce – Smith, Wade – Noppert and Heta – Aspinall were still under way in the evening session, before the semi-finals and the final for the winner's cheque of 35.000 pounds.

MODUS Super Series: Sherrock and van de Pas in Portsmouth

The field for week 7 of the 15th MODUS Super Series was also announced today – and it is quite something. In the Live Lounge in Portsmouth the line-up includes Fallon Sherrock, who without a Tour Card wants to find her way back via MODUS and the PDC Women's Series, and Benito van de Pas. The Dutchman, a three-time Players Championship winner, is chasing the form that once took him to the top of the world. The field is completed by former youth world champion Keegan Brown, Challenge Tour winner Sam Spivey, Panagiotis Chrysospathis (Greece), Kai Fan Leung (Hong Kong) as well as Richie Howson, David Evans, Henry Cooper, Steve Green, Pete Hughes and Ben Flanagan-McClelland. Play is in three groups, the best reach Finals Night at the end of the week and fight for a place in Champions Week.

Coming up tomorrow

Tomorrow, Monday, 14 September, the PDC Asian Championship will be played in Changjiang on Hainan – the crowning finale of the Asian season directly after the Tour, with further World Championship places at stake. In Portsmouth the new week of the MODUS Super Series also begins with Sherrock and van de Pas; play starts at 10:30 German time on the stream.