Van Barneveld enchants Amsterdam, Van der Voort rebukes his own fans & Jim Long's bitter tour verdict

Darts news from 19 September 2026: Van Duijvenbode knocks Humphries out, Van Barneveld enchants Amsterdam, Van der Voort rebukes the fans – all the results.

The second round of the World Series of Darts Finals served up plenty of high-class darts at Amsterdam's AFAS Live – but the stories of the day were written by a three-year-old boy in the stage lights, a five-time world champion without a place in the field and a 57-year-old Canadian who is openly weighing up the end of his professional career.

On top of that came unusually blunt words from a Dutch ex-pro about his own crowd, a thoughtful Michael van Gerwen on his own livestream and a Gerwyn Price who admires Luke Littler's historic project and wants to stop it at the same time. One thing at a time.

The key points of the day

Dirk van Duijvenbode turns around a 3-6 deficit against Luke Humphries and wins 10-9 – the celebration comes with three-year-old son Levi on stage.
Raymond van Barneveld provides the goosebump moment of the day: a full walk-on without throwing a single dart.
Vincent van der Voort sharply criticises the behaviour of the Amsterdam crowd towards Luke Littler on his podcast.
Jim Long talks openly about the likely end of his time on the PDC tour: “As a North American it is simply too hard.”
Gerwyn Price has his say on Littler's major hunt – with a notable caveat.
Michael van Gerwen dismantles the glamorous image of the darts pro on his own stream.

Story of the day: a three-year-old on the biggest stage

There are wins you measure in numbers, and there are wins you measure in images. Dirk van Duijvenbode managed both on this Saturday afternoon. The Dutchman started 3-0 up against Luke Humphries, then watched six legs in a row go the Englishman's way and suddenly trailed 3-6 – against an opponent who looked at that stage as if he wanted to see the job calmly through.

That it turned out differently was down to a mix of rediscovered scoring power, ice-cold doubles and a hall that celebrated every dart from the “Titan”. Van Duijvenbode levelled at 9-9, and in the deciding leg the atmosphere in the AFAS Live was almost impossible to describe. Double 16 – 10-9. In the end the winner had an average of 101.14, with 98.34 for Humphries. A match that was well above 98 on both sides and was still settled by nerve.

The real image came afterwards. Throughout the match Van Duijvenbode had kept glancing over with a smile to the players' box, where his wife Saskia and three-year-old son Levi were sitting. After the decisive double the boy was allowed on stage himself. “I see that smile on his face – and everything else disappears,” is how the Dutchman summed up the moment. The PDC also shared the scene as “lovely scenes”. After a season that has gone far less smoothly for van Duijvenbode than he had hoped, this was more than just a last-16 win.

A walk-on without a match: Van Barneveld makes the arena shake

Before the first dart of the second round, something happened that was nowhere in the schedule. Raymond van Barneveld, five-time world champion and not part of the 32-player field in Amsterdam this year, was invited onto the stage for a full walk-on. His own music, his own entrance, full volume – and a hall that exploded immediately.

It was a marketing idea, certainly. But it was also one of those gestures that work in darts like almost nowhere else: a crowd that is not allowed to see its hero play gets him back for at least two minutes. Barneveld was greeted with loud cheers and created the atmosphere that would shape the afternoon before a single dart had been thrown.

Van der Voort holds his own fans to account

That very atmosphere has two sides, though – and Vincent van der Voort put his finger on it in the podcast “Darts Draait Door” today. The former pro took his own compatriots to task for booing Luke Littler heavily during his first-round appearance against Danny Noppert.

“Why does the crowd have to boo him that much? He isn't given enough respect,” said Van der Voort. And further: “You know you're backing Noppert. Fine. But that doesn't mean you have to boo him like that.” His core accusation: the arena was more concerned with putting the world champion off than with carrying its own man forward. “They were more concerned with getting to him than with cheering Noppert on.”

The fact that it is a Dutchman of all people opening this debate gives it weight. Van der Voort is no friend of a sterile atmosphere – which makes it all the more remarkable where he draws the line: support for your own man yes, systematically disrupting the opponent no. The discussion is likely to follow the tour well beyond Amsterdam.

Price on Littler's major hunt: “If I don't win them, I hope he does”

One of the most original comments of the day came from Gerwyn Price. The Welshman was asked about Littler's pursuit of a clean sweep of the majors in this calendar year – and delivered an answer that packs sportsmanship and a declaration of war into one breath.

“If I don't win them, I hope he does. Fair play,” said Price. “Rewrite the history books, and if he wins every tournament – happy days. But of course I'm here to stop him.”

That is more than a platitude: Price is one of the few in the field who regularly make life uncomfortable for Littler on the big stage. That he acknowledges the historic dimension and still makes clear that he wants to be the spoiler himself is exactly the tone this tournament needs right now.

Jim Long and the sums that don't add up for North Americans

Much quieter, but weightier in substance, was what Jim Long said about his future today. The 57-year-old Canadian, who earned his tour card at Q-School in 2025, currently sits 82nd in the Order of Merit – a long way outside the top 64 you would need to keep the card.

Long describes the problem soberly and without self-pity: sleepless nights on planes, five to six hours of time difference, and after that you are supposed to hold your own against Europe's best. “As a North American it is simply too hard if you're not prepared to move over here permanently,” he said. He left himself a back door: “If I had a good run at the World Championship – and I mean a really good run – then I might think about an apartment for six months.”

At the same time he made clear how much he loves this world: “If I were a European darts player, I would do anything to stay on this tour.” New cities, new arenas, new fans – for Long that is not travel stress but the real reward. In the evening he was in the second-round field – against Gerwyn Price of all people.

Van Gerwen takes apart the glamour myth

Michael van Gerwen is already out of the tournament in Amsterdam, but he remains visible all the same. In a livestream on his own YouTube channel, together with Vincent van der Voort, the Dutchman addressed a question he apparently hears often: whether his life isn't a dream.

“They all think they want my life. I'll happily give them one: just travel with me for a year,” van Gerwen replied drily. Asked about his best friend on tour came perhaps the most telling punchline of the day: “Probably the referee.” And while he was throwing at 121 and reading the chat at the same time in the stream, he sighed: “We're trying to play 121, read the chat and answer everything all at once. That's pretty difficult, folks.”

In between, the veteran dropped in a sentence that amateur players can frame – about what matters in the throw: “The release. The release is so good. You just let everything go.”

The results in brief

World Series of Darts Finals, second round (afternoon session, best of 19 legs):

Dirk van Duijvenbode 10-9 Luke Humphries (101.14 / 98.34)
Gian van Veen 10-7 Karel Sedláček (101.52 / 103.30)
Josh Rock 10-7 Ryan Searle (95.11 / 90.60)
Ross Smith 10-5 Daryl Gurney (100.30 / 94.57)

Oddity of the day: Karel Sedláček threw the highest average of the session with 103.30 – and went out. Gian van Veen hit back with, among other things, a high finish of 147 to make it 3-3 and sealed the deal at the end on his opponent's throw with double 8. Afterwards he thanked his parents, who had made the trip specially: “The last time they were there was in Poland.” Sedláček had “thrown a fantastic match”, said van Veen – a 10-7 against that opponent gives him more confidence than a stroll.

In the evening session four more last-16 matches are scheduled: Jonny Clayton – Motomu Sakai, Gerwyn Price – Jim Long, James Wade – Wessel Nijman and Luke Littler – Nathan Aspinall. Nijman, who has been knocking on the door of his first big major breakthrough for months, was in fighting mood beforehand: he just needs that bit of luck on his side for once.

MODUS Super Series: In parallel, the final of week seven is being played out in the evening. Six players – David Evans, Henry Cooper, Steve Green, Richie Howson, Benito van de Pas and Sam Spivey – are fighting for the weekly win and the one place still up for grabs for Champions Week.

What's coming up tomorrow

The World Series of Darts Finals reach their final day on Sunday: the four quarter-finals start at 13:00 CEST, with the two semi-finals and the final following from 19:00. The all-Dutch clash between Gian van Veen and Dirk van Duijvenbode is already set; in the same half of the draw Josh Rock and Ross Smith meet, with the winner of that tie waiting in the semi-final. £100,000 is on offer for the champion from a total prize fund of £450,000.