Flanders Darts Trophy 2026 | Day One Preview and Order of Play
The 2026 Flanders Darts Trophy gets under way in Antwerp on Friday as the qualifiers face off in the opening round.
The 12th European Tour event of the year features 48 players competing for £230,000 in prize money at the Antwerp Expo from September 11-13.
The tournament sees the top 16 players from the main Order of Merit seeded in the draw and enter at the Second Round stage, while the 16 highest-ranked players from the one-year ProTour Order of Merit enter in Round One.
They are joined by a further ten Tour Card holder qualifiers, four Host Nation qualifiers, a Nordic & Baltic qualifier and an East European qualifier.
Friday’s afternoon session sees Austrian Open finalist Kevin Doets take on James Hurrell – who received a late call-up via the reserve list.
Former ProTour event winners Mickey Mansell and Bradley Brooks go head-to-head, before former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding faces Dutch hopeful Chris Landman.
Czech number one Karel Sedlacek takes on Denmark’s Michael Hansen, while Players Championship event winner Jeffrey De Graaf meets host nation qualifier Jeroen Caron.
Niels Zonneveld, twice a semi-finalist on the European Tour this season, opens up against East European qualifier Petr Tous of Czechia.
Two-time European Tour finalist Ryan Joyce comes up against Stephen Burton – who knocked out Joe Cullen in last week’s Czech Darts Open.
Former Hungarian Darts Trophy champion Niko Springer looks to rubber-stamp his place in the upcoming World Grand Prix by overcoming debutant host nation qualifier Jaimy Jacobs.
The evening features a number of crucial ties in the race for World Grand Prix qualification, including an effective straight shootout between Kim Huybrechts and Sebastian Bialecki.
Home favourite Huybrechts sits just £500 outside of the provisional qualification spots, though a win for Polish youngster Bialecki would see him keep his Leicester hopes alive.
The final provisional spot is currently occupied by Spain’s Cristo Reyes – who faces a must-win showdown against former World Champion Rob Cross earlier in the evening.
Women’s World Matchplay champion Beau Greaves marks her third European Tour appearance with a clash against Aussie number one Damon Heta.
Greaves made further history last week by becoming the first female to win a match on the European Tour, before being denied by a 109 average from Luke Humphries in Round Two.
Five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld returns to European Tour action for the first time since May when he takes on Canada’s Jim Long.
Three-time European Tour event winner Joe Cullen, whose most recent triumph came in 2022, starts out against former WDF World Champion Andy Baetens – who came through Thursday’s host nation qualifier.
Former World Championship semi-finalist Gabriel Clemens faces multiple ProTour event winner Cameron Menzies – who dumped Gary Anderson out of last week’s Czech Darts Open.
In-form William O’Connor takes on home hopeful Kevin Lankhuizen, while Dirk van Duijvenbode looks to avoid a seventh first round exit on the European Tour this season when he faces nine-time Players Championship event winner Brendan Dolan.
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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Flanders Darts Trophy 2026 Day One Schedule
All times BST (local time +1 hour)
Friday September 11
First Round
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm)
Niels Zonneveld v Petr Tous
Mickey Mansell v Bradley Brooks
Andrew Gilding v Chris Landman
Kevin Doets v James Hurrell
Karel Sedlacek v Michael Hansen
Jeffrey de Graaf v Jeroen Caron
Ryan Joyce v Stephen Burton
Niko Springer v Jaimy Jacobs
Evening Session (6pm-10pm)
Rob Cross v Cristo Reyes
Joe Cullen v Andy Baetens
Cameron Menzies v Gabriel Clemens
William O’Connor v Kevin Lankhuizen
Raymond van Barneveld v Jim Long
Damon Heta v Beau Greaves
Sebastian Bialecki v Kim Huybrechts
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Brendan Dolan
