The 2026 European Tour kicks off this weekend with the Poland Darts Masters in Krakow, marking the first time the European Tour has stopped in Poland. Saturday afternoon features the first matches of the second round, with the world's top three—Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gian van Veen—not appearing until the evening session. The afternoon's second-round ties are best-of-11 legs, starting at 12:00 PM on Saturday, February 21, 2026.
The session opens at 13:00 with Martin Schindler against Boris Krcmar. Schindler, ranked inside the world's top 16 and the highest-ranked German, has won three European Tour titles and was the best last year at the Austrian Darts Open. Krcmar, who does not hold a PDC Tour Card, beat Ryan Joyce 6-3 with a three-figure average in the first round, but Schindler has won all three of their previous meetings, the last in 2023. Next, at 13:30, Chris Dobey faces Connor Scutt. Dobey, in form after winning the third Players Championship of the year with an 8-1 final victory over Stephen Bunting—his ninth Players Championship title—has never won a European Tour event, with his best result a 2019 Dutch Darts Open final loss. Scutt impressed by beating Damon Heta 6-4 in the opener; Dobey leads their head-to-head 2-1, but Scutt won their most recent meeting last year.
At 14:00, Nathan Aspinall takes on Darryl Pilgrim in an all-English matchup. Aspinall, the 12th seed from Stockport, won three European Tour events last year and is motivated after not being selected for Premier League Darts. Pilgrim, who secured his PDC Tour Card early last year and is now 74th in the world, beat Dave Chisnall 6-4 in the first round; this is their first meeting. The 14:30 match is a full Dutch clash between Danny Noppert and Jermaine Wattimena. Noppert, the 10th seed after an excellent 2025, has five Players Championship titles but no European Tour crown. Wattimena won two Players Championships last season and also lacks a European Tour title; their head-to-head is tied at 5-5.
Gary Anderson versus Wessel Nijman at 15:00 promises fireworks. Nijman, 25, started the season superbly by winning Players Championship 2 and beat Thomas Lovely comfortably in his opener, but has struggled on TV events. Anderson, the 55-year-old Scot and sixth seed, reached the semi-finals at the last World Darts Championship and won the European Darts Grand Prix last year. Nijman holds a mental edge, having won all three of their previous meetings. At 15:30, James Wade faces Cameron Menzies. Wade, 42, won the first Players Championship event of the new campaign and reached two major finals last year but was not selected for Premier League Darts. Menzies drew negative attention at the last World Darts Championship by smashing his table after a 3-2 first-round loss to Charlie Manby and recently revealed he has no feeling in parts of his fingers; their head-to-head is tied at 6-6.
The penultimate match at 16:00 features Ross Smith against Daryl Gurney. Smith, the 16th seed, has won a major and Players Championship titles but no European Tour crown. Gurney won 6-1 in the first round against Polish qualifier Dawid Robak and won the World Cup of Darts last year with Josh Rock; he leads their head-to-head 7-3. The afternoon session wraps up at 16:30 with Ryan Searle versus Cristo Reyes. Searle, the eighth seed, surprisingly reached the semi-finals at the World Darts Championship earlier this year. Reyes returned as a PDC Tour Card holder this season and has shown strong form at Players Championships; Searle beat him 6-4 at a Players Championship just two weeks ago.
