Slovak Darts Open 2026 | Day Three Preview and Order of Play
The inaugural Slovak Darts Open title is up for grabs as the remaining 16 hopefuls battle it out in Bratislava on Sunday.
Ten seeds and six qualifiers remain in the running for the £35,000 top prize at the Incheba as they lock horns over two sessions.
The afternoon session plays host to the Last 16 ties, before the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final follow in the evening.
Amongst the stand-out ties of the third round features a clash between World Championship semi-finalist Ryan Searle – runner-up in the recent International Darts Open – and ninth seed Nathan Aspinall, who claimed the German Darts Grand Prix title back in April.
A repeat of the infamous 2023 UK Open final sees Michael van Gerwen take on Andrew Gilding.
Van Gerwen is riding high after picking up the Nordic Darts Masters title in Copenhagen earlier this month and began his campaign in Bratislava by defeating Krzysztof Ratajski in a last-leg decider.
Gilding, who triumphed in a deciding leg to claim his maiden major title against MVG in Minehead three years ago, has recorded back-to-back 6-4 wins over Mervyn King and Luke Woodhouse to reach this stage of the competition.
Another tasty tussle sees world number nine Stephen Bunting take on Dutch sensation Wessel Nijman – a six-time Players Championship event winner this season.
Nijman, who also clinched the European Darts Trophy title earlier in the year, overcame Slovenia’s Benjamin Pratnemer 6-2 in his opener, while Bunting battled past Niels Zonneveld in a last-leg shootout.
Ross Smith, who ended his wait for a maiden European Tour title at the International Darts Open in Riesa a month ago, comes up against Chris Dobey – whose sole appearance in a European Tour final to date came back in 2019.
Rob Cross looks to continue his momentum from picking up a Players Championship title in midweek when he comes up against in-form Dutch ace Kevin Doets.
Cross, who has comfortably secured his spot in next month’s World Matchplay, dumped out top seed Gian van Veen 6-3 on Saturday with a 98.4 average, while Austrian Open finalist Doets dispatched Owen Bates 6-3 with a 102.5 average before brushing aside Damon Heta 6-2.
Cameron Menzies looks to pick up from where he left off in a ruthless second round success over Gerwyn Price with a 106 average when he faces world number 90 Tom Sykes – the lowest-ranked player left standing in the competition following impressive wins over Niko Springer and Martin Schindler so far.
Former UK Open champion Danny Noppert aims to improve on a match average of just 81.5 in his opening win over Madars Razma when he faces two-time ProTour event winner Jermaine Wattimena – who safely dispatched Dave Chisnall in his opener.
Former World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker – who enjoyed a welcome return to form at the recent World Cup of Darts – averaged 107 in his 6-2 second round win over William O’Connor and now meets recent Baltic Sea Darts Open runner-up – Ryan Joyce.
The action gets under way from 12pm BST, with Last 16 and quarter-final ties to be contested over the best of 11 legs, semi-finals best of 13 and the final best of 15.
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Slovak Darts Open 2026 Day Three Schedule
All times BST (local time +1 hour)
Sunday June 21
Last 16
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm)
Rob Cross v Kevin Doets
Ryan Searle v Nathan Aspinall
Cameron Menzies v Tom Sykes
Danny Noppert v Jermaine Wattimena
Michael van Gerwen v Andrew Gilding
Chris Dobey v Ross Smith
Ryan Joyce v Mike De Decker
Stephen Bunting v Wessel Nijman
Evening Session (6pm-10pm)
Quarter-Finals
Cross/Doets v Searle/Aspinall
Menzies/Sykes v Noppert/Wattimena
Van Gerwen/Gilding v Dobey/R Smith
Joyce/De Decker v Bunting/Nijman
Semi-Finals
Final
