Swiss Darts Trophy 2026: Price, Anderson, Aspinall and Joyce withdraw – four replacements in Basel
Gerwyn Price, Gary Anderson, Nathan Aspinall and Ryan Joyce have withdrawn from the Swiss Darts Trophy 2026 in Basel. Sedlacek, Soutar, Owen and Kenny step in.
The Swiss Darts Trophy 2026 has lost four big names before the first dart is thrown. As became known on Thursday, Gerwyn Price, Gary Anderson, Nathan Aspinall and Ryan Joyce have withdrawn from the European Tour event in Basel. Stepping in for the four Britons are Karel Sedlacek, Alan Soutar, Rob Owen and Nick Kenny – with the first-round ties changing accordingly.
Four withdrawals, no explanation
The pull-outs of Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall weigh particularly heavily. Both are among the highest-profile players in the field, and both are now missing from the St. Jakobshalle. Added to that are Gary Anderson and Ryan Joyce.
No reasons were given for the withdrawals. So far there is no official information on why the four pros have pulled out.
These four players move up
Moving up are the players who narrowly lost their decisive matches in the qualifier for Tour Card holders and were therefore at the top of the reserve list. That produces these new first-round ties:
- Sebastian Bialecki vs. Karel Sedlacek
- Dave Chisnall vs. Alan Soutar
- Michael Smith vs. Rob Owen
- Kevin Doets vs. Nick Kenny
What this means for the draw
The replacements have not been handed easy opponents. Alan Soutar faces Dave Chisnall, who has already won eight titles on the European Tour. Rob Owen meets Michael Smith, for whom it is a return to the European Tour. Karel Sedlacek plays Sebastian Bialecki, Nick Kenny takes on Kevin Doets.
The outlook also changes for the seeded players: the winner of Bialecki against Sedlacek meets Wessel Nijman in the second round. Josh Rock faces the winner of Chisnall against Soutar, and Luke Humphries awaits the winner of Doets against Kenny.
The complete first round
The 16 first-round matches are spread across two sessions on Friday. Afternoon session from 13:00:
- Niels Zonneveld vs. Bradley Brooks
- William O'Connor vs. Jani Haavisto
- Mensur Suljovic vs. György Jehirszki
- Sebastian Bialecki vs. Karel Sedlacek
- Niko Springer vs. Roman Wellinger
- Joe Cullen vs. Tom Bissell
- Cameron Menzies vs. Cristo Reyes
- Rob Cross vs. M. Vandenbogaerde
Evening session from 19:00:
- Andrew Gilding vs. Stefan Bellmont
- Jeffrey de Graaf vs. Sietse Lap
- Dave Chisnall vs. Alan Soutar
- Raymond van Barneveld vs. Maik Kuivenhoven
- Dirk van Duijvenbode vs. Bruno Stöckli
- Michael Smith vs. Rob Owen
- Damon Heta vs. Alex Fehlmann
- Kevin Doets vs. Nick Kenny
Schedule, format and prize money
Play runs from Friday 9 October to Sunday 11 October at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel. The field comprises 48 players, with the 16 seeded pros entering only in the second round.
- Friday 9 October: First round, 13:00 and 19:00
- Saturday 10 October: Second round, 13:00 and 19:00
- Sunday 11 October: Third round from 12:00, from 18:00 quarter-finals, semi-finals and final
From the first round to the quarter-finals the format is best of 11, the semi-finals are best of 13 and the final best of 15 legs. A total of 230,000 pounds is paid out. The winner receives 35,000 pounds, the runner-up 15,000 pounds. Anyone knocked out in the first round takes home 2,000 pounds, the second round is worth 3,500 pounds and the third 5,000 pounds. Quarter-finalists receive 8,000 pounds, semi-finalists at least 10,000 pounds.
Defending champion and context
The defending champion is Stephen Bunting, who won the 2025 final 8-3 against Luke Woodhouse. The tournament is the 14th of 15 European Tour events of the 2026 season – so Basel is also about points for the Order of Merit and the last course-setting before the end-of-season run-in. The matches are streamed on PDC TV.
You can find all results, the draw and the updated schedule with us on the tournament page for the Swiss Darts Trophy 2026.