Planning a trip to the Czech Darts Open in Prague? PVA Expo Praha hosts PDC darts from 4 to 6 September, with 48 players, a knockout draw and European Tour ranking points at stake. Prepare your visit, follow the draw and plan your ticket purchase for three days of live darts
Czech Darts Open in Prague: three days of knockout darts at PVA Expo Praha
ČEZ Czech Darts Open 2026 brings the PDC European Tour back to Prague and, from 4 to 6 September, gathers 48 players in Hall 3 of the PVA Expo Praha complex. For visitors arriving on Friday, the most important thing is the schedule of the first session: the playing area opens at 12:00, and the first match starts at 13:00. The evening session begins at 19:00, after re-entry to the hall from 18:00. The tournament is the 12th stop of this year's European Tour season and the sixth PDC tournament held in the Czech Republic.
The result in Prague also has broader significance. Points affect the PDC Order of Merit, ProTour Order of Merit and European Tour Order of Merit, which determines the 32 participants in the European Championship. After the first ten tournaments, Wessel Nijman was leading, ahead of Ross Smith and Krzysztof Ratajski, although the standings may change before Prague at the Hungarian Darts Trophy.
Tickets for this event are in demand.
Why Friday is different from the rest of the weekend
The first day belongs to players who are not among the 16 seeds. On Friday, 16 first-round matches are played, eight in the afternoon and eight in the evening. The winners then face opponents from the group of the 16 highest-ranked entered players on Saturday, who enter directly into the second round.
Friday therefore has a different rhythm from Saturday. Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen, as the leading seeds, do not play in the first round; the opening day belongs to players trying to earn a Saturday match against the top 16.
The confirmed list for that group includes, among others, Rob Cross, Martin Schindler, Damon Heta, Krzysztof Ratajski, Joe Cullen, Cameron Menzies, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Luke Woodhouse. Beau Greaves, Kim Huybrechts, Callan Rydz, Keane Barry, Jeffrey de Graaf, Stephen Burton, Rob Owen, Connor Scutt, Cristo Reyes and Mario Vandenbogaerde also secured places through the Tour Card Holder Qualifier. Johan Engström comes through the Nordic & Baltic route, and Martin Homola through the East Europe qualifiers.
Four places are reserved for home qualifiers. Their qualifier is played on 3 September, one day before the start of the main tournament, so it is not wise to treat the final first-round draw as complete until that part has finished.
Stars waiting for Saturday
The seeds provide a clear snapshot of the current top level of the PDC. The top 16 for Prague are Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, Michael van Gerwen, Jonny Clayton, James Wade, Gerwyn Price, Josh Rock, Stephen Bunting, Danny Noppert, Ryan Searle, Gary Anderson, Chris Dobey, Wessel Nijman, Ross Smith and Nathan Aspinall.
Luke Littler arrives as number one in the PDC rankings and as a player who has already won the biggest televised titles during 2026. After the world title and the World Masters, in May he defeated Luke Humphries 11-10 in the Premier League final, and in July he defended the World Matchplay title with an 18-9 victory over Gerwyn Price. It is precisely his ability to hit treble 20 repeatedly and suddenly accelerate the pace that means any of his matches can change direction within a few visits to the board.
Humphries has a different story in Prague. He is the winner of the last two editions and has won overall in 2022, 2024 and 2025. Last year he defeated Josh Rock 8-5 in the final. His advantage is not only experience on this stage, but also the ability to stay in a leg when his opponent is the first to produce a big scoring burst. The rivalry with Littler remains one of the main storylines of the modern PDC, but the draw will still determine whether they can meet in Prague at all and at which stage.
Gian van Veen enters as the third seed, and Michael van Gerwen as the fourth. Together with Gerwyn Price, Josh Rock and Jonny Clayton, they form a group in which a few top-class legs can completely change the draw.
Format: why every missed double matters
The Czech Darts Open is played as a straight knockout. There are no groups and no second chance after defeat. The first four rounds are played as "best of 11 legs", which means six legs are needed for victory. The semi-final is extended to "best of 13", and the final to "best of 15".
All legs are played with a double-out finish. A player must reach exactly zero and hit a double segment with the final dart. That is why a match cannot be understood only through the overall average. A player may have a higher scoring average but still lose if several opportunities on doubles are missed.
For a spectator in the hall, three things are worth watching:
- 180 - the maximum score with three darts, most commonly achieved with three hits in treble 20. In the hall, it is a moment that almost automatically raises the noise level.
- Checkout - the combination used to finish a leg. A big checkout can completely change the momentum, especially when the opponent is waiting on a simple finish.
- Deciding leg - in a match where six legs are needed to win, a 5-5 score leads to an eleventh leg. At that point, one poor visit or a missed double often becomes the difference between advancing and being eliminated.
The short format increases the scope for surprises. A seed on Saturday does not have much time for a slow start, while a qualifier already knows the stage and conditions from Friday.
What Friday can offer without invented "derbies"
The final first-round pairings depend on the completion of qualifying and the draw, so it is too early to declare specific derbies in advance. Nevertheless, the structure of the field already reveals where potential surprises may lie. Rob Cross and Damon Heta have experience of deep runs on major PDC stages, Martin Schindler and Krzysztof Ratajski have for years been among the most dangerous European players outside the very tight circle of seeds, while Beau Greaves brings additional attention after earning her place among the 48 through the Tour Card Holder Qualifier.
The winner of every Friday match will face someone from the top 16 in the second round, so the first day is a direct battle for a Saturday duel with a seed.
It is worth securing tickets in time.
What the entire tournament weekend looks like
The schedule is organised into two sessions per day. The entire first round is played on Friday. Saturday brings 16 second-round matches, when the seeds enter the competition. Sunday afternoon is reserved for eight round-of-16 matches, while in the evening four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and the final are played in a single block.
For visitors with an all-day ticket, the rule between sessions is particularly important. After the afternoon programme ends, all spectators leave the hall. Re-entry begins at 18:00 after the venue has been prepared for the evening block. This also applies to those entitled to enter both sessions, so a break outside the arena itself should be planned between the programmes.
The schedule clearly shows the progression of the draw: Friday determines 32, Saturday 16, and Sunday the champion.
The atmosphere of the PDC European Tour live
Darts in an arena is not a quiet sport. Player walk-ons, music, chanting and the collective reaction to a 180 or a big checkout are as much a part of the experience as the board itself. Photographs from previous editions in Prague show long tables, spectators holding up "180" signs and strong lighting directed towards the stage. It is a typical European Tour setup in which a large part of the audience faces one main stage and large screens.
The loudest moment is not always the final dart. After the first two darts land in treble 20, the crowd already recognises a 180 attempt, while a big checkout raises the tension before the final throw. The quieter moments on doubles are equally important: one dart for a break in a short format can decide the entire match.
PVA Expo Praha and getting to the venue
PVA Expo Praha is located at Beranových 667, Praha 9 - Letňany. The complex has 105,000 square metres of indoor and outdoor space, and the Czech Darts Open organiser lists Hall 3 as the tournament venue. For visitors, the simplest point of orientation is the Letňany terminus on metro line C, from which the complex is approximately a five-minute walk away.
The event organiser states that visitors arriving by car most commonly use the P3 car park next to the complex, then entrance D and access to the event area through Hall 4. PVA Expo separately also lists the P1 and P2 car parks within the complex and the large P3 car park in the immediate vicinity. Capacity may be limited depending on the event, so the metro remains the more predictable option at times with larger numbers of visitors.
The PVA Expo Praha calendar lists other fairs and exhibitions in the complex on the same days, so it is worth allowing extra time for arrival and finding the entrance.
- Metro: line C to Letňany station, then approximately five minutes on foot.
- Address: Beranových 667, 199 00 Praha 9 - Letňany.
- Friday afternoon: entry to the playing area from 12:00, first match at 13:00.
- Between sessions: the hall is cleared, and re-entry for the evening block begins at 18:00.
Places are disappearing quickly.
Prague between two sessions
PVA Expo Praha is next to the terminus of metro line C, so it is not necessary to choose accommodation immediately beside the complex. For Friday, however, it is useful to keep the short break between sessions in mind: the afternoon block ends at around 17:00, and re-entry begins at 18:00. For more substantial sightseeing in Prague, the morning before the first session or a separate day provides more time.
What to watch if you are coming primarily for the sport
The sporting story of the weekend is not only about the champion. Humphries already has three titles in Prague, Littler arrives as world number one, while Van Veen, Van Gerwen, Price, Clayton, Rock, Wade and Anderson give depth to the upper part of the field.
The European Tour race is also worth following. Wessel Nijman was at the top of the standings for the European Championship after ten stops, Ross Smith was second, and Krzysztof Ratajski third. Prague is the 12th tournament out of a total of 15 in the season, so every progression through a round carries additional weight for players who want to secure a place at the season-ending European Championship.
And for Friday, the story is even simpler: 32 players enter the battle for 16 places on Saturday. There is no room to protect a result through a group stage or to repair a bad start the following day. Six won legs take you through, defeat ends the tournament. It is precisely that directness that makes the first day of the Czech Darts Open interesting even without the complete draw being known in advance.
Sources:
- Czech Darts Open - session schedule, Hall 3, confirmed player list, qualifying places and visitor information.
- PDC Europe - competition format, progression through the draw, ranking significance, list of previous winners and structure of qualifying routes.
- PDC - current PDC player rankings and context of the leading seeds' form during 2026.
- PDC Europe, Road to Dortmund - European Tour Order of Merit after the first ten tournaments and the qualification criterion for the European Championship.
- PVA Expo Praha - address, metro, walking distance, car parks, size of the complex and calendar of parallel events.
- Sky Sports and Sporting News - results of the 2026 Premier League and World Matchplay finals for Luke Littler.