Swiss Darts Trophy 2026 | Day One Preview and Order of Play
The 2026 Swiss Darts Trophy begins in Basel on Friday as the qualifiers go head-to-head in the opening round.
The penultimate European Tour event of the season features 48 players competing for £230,000 in prize money at the St. Jakobshalle from October 9-11.
The event is likely to prove pivotal in the race for European Championship qualification later this month, with a host of big names currently outside the provisional cut off.
The afternoon session features two of this year’s Players Championship event winners going head-to-head as Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki faces Czechia’s Karel Sedlacek.
The duo sit two and three places respectively outside of the provisional European Championship spots and defeat for either would all but end their hopes of heading to Dortmund.
Joe Cullen is the closest challenger to 32nd placed Stephen Bunting in the provisional race table, and the former Masters champion and multiple European Tour event winner comes up against ProTour event semi-finalist Tom Bissell.
Former Hungarian Darts Trophy winner Niko Springer starts out against Host Nation qualifier Roman Wellinger, while former Champions League of Darts winner Mensur Suljovic meets Hungary’s György Jehirszki.
Niels Zonneveld, twice a European Tour semi-finalist this season and quarter-finalist at the recent World Grand Prix, opens up against former Players Championship event winner Bradley Brooks.
Two-time European Tour finalist William O’Connor faces the returning Jani Haavisto – a former World Cup of Darts semi-finalist with Finland.
Two-time European Champion Rob Cross faces a tough opener against Belgium’s Mario Vandenbogaerde – runner-up on the ProTour back in July.
Arguably the stand-out tie of the afternoon sees Cameron Menzies – twice a ProTour event winner this season – take on Spanish number one Cristo Reyes – who is out to consolidate his place in the European Championship.
The evening session features a clash between former World Champion Michael Smith and former UK Open semi-finalist Rob Owen.
Smith finds himself £9,000 adrift of the European Championship spots with two events remaining, having reached two quarter-finals earlier in the year.
Five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld currently occupies the final provisional ProTour qualification spot for Ally Pally and looks to take another big step towards that target by overcoming Dutch compatriot Maik Kuivenhoven.
Nick Kenny is also chasing down a coveted World Championship spot, and the Welshman faces a formidable opener against Dutch sensation Kevin Doets – runner-up in this year’s Austrian Open.
Eight-time European Tour event winner Dave Chisnall aims to consolidate his place in the European Championship by overcoming Scottish star Alan Soutar – one of four players called up via the reserve list.
Aussie number one Damon Heta starts out against host nation qualifier Alex Fehlmann, while Swiss number one Stefan Bellmont meets former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding.
Players Championship event winner Jeffrey De Graaf faces Dutch debutant Sietse Lap, as World Matchplay semi-finalist Dirk van Duijvenbode looks to safely see off Swiss veteran Bruno Stöckli.
The action gets under way from 12pm BST, with first round ties to be contested over the best of 11 legs.
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Swiss Darts Trophy 2026 Day One Schedule
All times BST (local time +1 hour)
Friday October 9
Round One
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm)
Niels Zonneveld v Bradley Brooks
William O’Connor v Jani Haavisto
Mensur Suljovic v Gyorgy Jehirszki
Sebastian Bialecki v Karel Sedlacek
Niko Springer v Roman Wellinger
Joe Cullen v Tom Bissell
Cameron Menzies v Cristo Reyes
Rob Cross v Mario Vandenbogaerde
Evening Session (6pm-10pm)
Andrew Gilding v Stefan Bellmont
Jeffrey de Graaf v Sietse Lap
Dave Chisnall v Alan Soutar
Raymond van Barneveld v Maik Kuivenhoven
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Bruno Stöckli
Michael Smith v Rob Owen
Damon Heta v Alex Fehlmann
Kevin Doets v Nick Kenny
