The race for Dortmund is tightening, Van der Voort on Van Gerwen's hunger & Wellinger's debut in Basel
Darts news from 9 October 2026: Reyes and Sedlacek score in the race for Dortmund, Van der Voort on Van Gerwen, Wellinger makes his Pro Tour debut in Basel.
The main news of the day
With the penultimate European Tour event of the season, the race for the 32 spots at the European Championship in Dortmund has reached its decisive phase. Cristo Reyes, who went into the day as the last qualifier, and Karel Sedlacek, who had come into the field as a reserve, won their opening matches in Basel and gave themselves some breathing space.
Three other stories also shaped the day: Vincent van der Voort spoke at length in an interview about the form of Michael van Gerwen, Danny Ayres won all five matches in his group at the MODUS Super Series, and in Selsey the English association's three-day tournament weekend began with three ranking competitions.
The race for the European Championship
The top 32 players in the European Tour Order of Merit qualify for the Machineseeker European Championship in Dortmund. Only the prize money from European Tour events counts towards this ranking; results from Players Championships or televised tournaments do not. After this weekend only one more event in the series is left, so the situation in the bottom third of the list is tight: anyone who fails to score now has only one attempt left.
Cristo Reyes went into the day in 32nd place and therefore as the last qualifier. The Spaniard beat Cameron Menzies 6:4 and at least secured the second-round prize money. Menzies, who has himself dropped outside the top 32, missed several chances at a Double during the match and was eliminated.
Karel Sedlacek, who would not have been in the field at all without the withdrawals of several players, won 6:4 against Sebastian Bialecki with an Average of 100.20. The Czech is one of those benefiting from the reserve rule. For him too, every round won closes the gap.
Dave Chisnall is under pressure as well. The Englishman, who stood at the Oche at fourteen consecutive European Championships, is 30th and therefore only just inside the qualification places. Kim Huybrechts, 28th, does not even have it in his own hands: he failed to qualify for the event in Basel and has to follow the weekend from the outside. Daryl Gurney is also missing from the field.
Van der Voort on Van Gerwen: the hunger has to come back
The most widely noted comment of the day did not come at the Oche but in an interview. Vincent van der Voort, a former professional and long-time companion of Michael van Gerwen, spoke about the three-time world champion's prospects. Van der Voort still believes a return to the very top is possible, but sees the decision as lying with Van Gerwen alone: the hunger for titles has to come back, and the key question is how much work Van Gerwen puts into his game and how badly he wants it.
At the same time, van der Voort explained why the yardstick today is different from Van Gerwen's dominant years. In Luke Littler there is an opponent who offers barely any weakness, especially in the long formats; Littler has lost only one single match over more than twenty Legs in his career. Van Gerwen himself, seeded fifth in Basel, does not start until the second round.
Darts in Germany
Niko Springer was the only German in action on Friday afternoon and reached the second round with a 6:1 win over Switzerland's Roman Wellinger. The scoreline was more convincing than the performance: Springer stayed at an Average of around 77 and left a lot out there, above all on the Doubles. What counts for his position in the European Tour Order of Merit is progress first of all; in sporting terms there is plenty of room for improvement.
Martin Schindler, a seeded player, has not yet started. For the German number one, Basel is about more than one round: he is only a few places inside the qualification spots for Dortmund in the European Tour Order of Merit and can improve his position considerably this weekend.
The story of the day
Roman Wellinger, an amateur player for 13 years and a road builder by trade, made his Pro Tour debut with the 1:6 defeat by Springer. The man from Graubünden had played his way into the field through the Host Nation Qualifier, where he threw ten 180s – more on this in the report on the qualifiers. He kept up with Springer for long stretches but failed on nine attempts at a Double – a difference that explains the clear scoreline. On stage, Wellinger wore a shirt designed by his daughter Melanie, a former Swiss U16 champion.
European Tour 14 in Basel: the results of the afternoon session
The best Average of the afternoon came from Rob Cross with 105.95 in his 6:3 win over Mario Vandenbogaerde. The best match was delivered by Bradley Brooks and Niels Zonneveld: Brooks turned around a 2:4 deficit and won 6:4, both stayed above an Average of 100, and together they threw 13 maximums. Joe Cullen opened his match against Tom Bissell with a high finish of 154 but lost 5:6 in the deciding Leg. William O'Connor won 6:1 against Jani Haavisto with 92.95.
- Bradley Brooks 6:4 Niels Zonneveld
- William O'Connor 6:1 Jani Haavisto
- Mensur Suljovic 6:3 György Jehirszki
- Karel Sedlacek 6:4 Sebastian Bialecki
- Niko Springer 6:1 Roman Wellinger
- Tom Bissell 6:5 Joe Cullen
- Cristo Reyes 6:4 Cameron Menzies
- Rob Cross 6:3 Mario Vandenbogaerde
In the evening the remaining first-round matches were on the schedule, including Michael Smith against Rob Owen, Raymond van Barneveld against Maik Kuivenhoven and Dirk van Duijvenbode against Bruno Stoeckli. At the time of going to press, the match between Andrew Gilding and Switzerland's Stefan Bellmont was under way. For van Barneveld there is more at stake than the tournament: the five-time world champion holds the last place in the Pro Tour Order of Merit that leads to the World Championship.
MODUS Super Series: Ayres wins all five matches
Danny Ayres has finished his group without defeat. The Englishman won all five matches and pushed Conor Heneghan, with four wins, into second place. Behind them came Alex Spellman with three and Harrison Leigh with two wins; Oliver Mitchell won one match, Andreas Harrysson finished without a win.
- Ayres 4:3 Leigh, Ayres 4:2 Mitchell, Ayres 4:0 Spellman, Ayres 4:0 Heneghan, Ayres 4:2 Harrysson
In the second group the outcome was still open in the evening: Lee Cocks, Niek Tuik and William Borland were level after seven matches with two wins each, Darren Trueman had one win, Danny Lauby Jr. none.
WDF opener in Selsey
At the Seal Bay Resort in Selsey the English association's three-day tournament weekend began. The England International Open opened proceedings, with the England Masters, the youth events, the England Classic Open and the Women's Singles to follow over the coming days. All singles competitions count towards the WDF ranking and are therefore relevant for anyone looking to position themselves this way for the big association tournaments.
Coming up tomorrow
In Basel the second round will be played across two sessions from 13:00 on Saturday. That is when the 16 seeded players enter, among them world champion Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Josh Rock and defending champion Stephen Bunting; from a German point of view, Martin Schindler faces Tom Bissell at 14:30 and Niko Springer plays Gian van Veen in the evening. At the same time the England Masters is being played in Selsey, and in Wigan the PDC Women's Series starts with events 21 and 22, where places at the World Championship and the Grand Slam of Darts are up for grabs.