Luke Humphries holds off Krzysztof Ratajski at the Poland Darts Open as Menzies whitewashes Wade
Luke Humphries ended home hopes at the Poland Darts Open with a deciding-leg victory over Krzysztof Ratajski, as Cameron Menzies whitewashed James Wade.
Day Two at the Krakow EXPO saw five seeds crash out of the season’s opening European Tour event on Saturday, while the world’s top three turned on the style.
Humphries silenced the partisan crowd by holding his nerve to deny Ratajski in a decider after the Polish number one had fought back from 5-2 down to threaten a sensational fightback.
Humphries admitted: “You probably would have seen a great game of darts there, it was just sometimes when you get crowds that unfortunately don’t give you that kind of fair game that you want, it’s hard for me to perform and it probably put a lot of pressure on Krzysztof at the end there. He probably tried too hard.”
There were no such difficulties for world number one Luke Littler as he raced to a 6-1 demolition of Mike De Decker with a sensational 113.8 average.
The reigning World Champion pinned all six of his attempts at doubles to record a ninth straight win over former World Grand Prix champion.
“I definitely needed to put on a performance tonight,” admitted Littler.
“It’s not gone my way in the first three weeks of the Premier League, but I certainly want to be the first winner here in Poland this weekend.”
European Champion Gian van Veen also advanced in a last-leg shoot-out, edging out Andrew Gilding to set up a fascinating showdown against Nathan Aspinall on Sunday afternoon.
Aspinall, who claimed top spot on the European Tour rankings last year, began his 2026 campaign with an impressive 6-3 win against Darryl Pilgrim, who averaged 101 in a losing cause.
Scottish star Menzies pulled off a remarkable 6-0 whitewash of an out of sorts Wade to continue his resurgent run of form.
Jonny Clayton and Michael Smith will go head-to-head in Sunday’s Last 16 after overcoming Adam Gawlas and Joe Cullen respectively.
Clayton put in a clinical display on the outer ring to sink a spirited Gawlas 6-4, before Smith crashed in seven 180s to edge out Cullen, sealing his progress with an 11-dart break in the decider.
However, Gary Anderson and James Wade were among the high-profile casualties on a bumper day of second round action.
Wessel Nijman recorded a fourth consecutive victory over a wasteful Anderson to secure his place in the Last 16, averaging 103.5 to complete a 6-2 success against the two-time World Champion.
“I don’t know how I keep beating him,” admitted Nijman.
“Against Gary, I think it’s just a good rhythm. I’m very happy with the way I played today, and I hope I can bring the same game as I did today into tomorrow.”
Chris Dobey also progressed with a whitewash win over Connor Scutt, converting 67 per cent of his attempts at doubles to set up a Last 16 tie against Luke Woodhouse.
Woodhouse overturned a 4-1 deficit to account for Callan Rydz, reeling off five straight legs to triumph with a 102 average, and completing the comeback with a 118 checkout.
Cristo Reyes will feature on the final day of a European Tour event for the first time since 2018 averaging 99 in a 6-2 scalp of World Championship semi-finalist Ryan Searle.
The Spaniard’s reward is a showdown against Premier League star Josh Rock – who opened his title challenge with a comprehensive 6-1 win over William O’Connor with a 103 average.
Ross Smith also landed a ton-plus average in his 6-1 demolition of Daryl Gurney, and the former European Champion will now take on Littler in Sunday afternoon’s opener.
Stephen Bunting and Jermaine Wattimena will renew their rivalry on the European Tour stage after coming through gruelling contests against Niels Zonneveld and Danny Noppert respectively.
Bunting defied six 180s from Zonneveld to wrap up a hard-fought 6-4 win, while Wattimena survived multiple match darts to deny Noppert in an all-Dutch affair.
Croatia’s Boris Krcmar punished a struggling Martin Schindler to seal a 6-4 victory, with the German number one landing 18 darts in the single five across the ten legs.
Poland Darts Open 2026 Day Two Results
Saturday February 21
Second Round
Afternoon Session
Martin Schindler 4-6 Boris Krcmar
Chris Dobey 6-0 Connor Scutt
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Darryl Pilgrim
Danny Noppert 5-6 Jermaine Wattimena
Gary Anderson 2-6 Wessel Nijman
James Wade 0-6 Cameron Menzies
Ross Smith 6-1 Daryl Gurney
Ryan Searle 2-6 Cristo Reyes
Evening Session
Josh Rock 6-1 William O’Connor
Jonny Clayton 6-4 Adam Gawlas
Michael Smith 6-5 Joe Cullen
Luke Littler 6-1 Mike De Decker
Callan Rydz 4-6 Luke Woodhouse
Luke Humphries 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
Stephen Bunting 6-4 Niels Zonneveld
Gian van Veen 6-5 Andrew Gilding
