World Series of Darts Finals begins in Amsterdam: Van Gerwen knocked out at the start, Littler takes the stage on September 18
The World Series of Darts Finals 2026 began on September 17 at AFAS Live in Amsterdam, where 32 of the world's top darts players are gathering over four days. Among the biggest names at the tournament are Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price, James Wade, Jonny Clayton and a number of leading Dutch players, while defending champion Michael van Gerwen unexpectedly saw his campaign end on the opening night. According to a Sky Sports report, Van Gerwen lost 6:5 to Daryl Gurney in the first round after missing six match darts while leading 5:4. This gave one of the tournament's main storylines an unexpected twist before Littler had even played his first match. The world number one according to the PDC's player rankings begins his campaign on September 18 against Danny Noppert.
The tournament runs until September 20, and the PDC has scheduled the finals so that the first round is played on Thursday and Friday, the second round across two Saturday sessions, while the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are reserved for Sunday. According to the official PDC schedule, AFAS Live hosts all six sessions, starting at 7 p.m. Central European Summer Time on September 17 and 18, while afternoon and evening sessions are scheduled for the weekend. Organisers expect strong public interest, which is not surprising given the Dutch tradition of major darts events and the fact that the 2025 edition was sold out, according to the venue itself. Visitors coming to Amsterdam for the tournament may also find accommodation offers in Amsterdam useful, especially because of the large number of simultaneous events during the weekend.
Van Gerwen's title defence ended in the first round
The biggest result of the opening night came in the match between Michael van Gerwen and Daryl Gurney. Van Gerwen arrived in Amsterdam as the defending champion and top seed, but after eleven legs he was left without a chance to win the World Series of Darts Finals for a seventh time. Sky Sports reports that the Dutch player had six match darts while leading 5:4, but failed to convert them, after which Gurney forced a deciding leg and closed out the match 6:5. Gurney entered the tournament as a late replacement following visa problems that prevented Filipino players Lourence Ilagan and Alexis Toylo from competing. His progress therefore further highlighted the unpredictability of the short first-round format, which is played as a race to six legs.
The defeat is particularly significant for Van Gerwen because this tournament is one of the competitions in which he has one of his most impressive historical records. According to the PDC, he won the World Series of Darts Finals in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2025, and last year he defeated Luke Littler 11:7 in the final in Amsterdam. The PDC reported at the time that the Dutch player claimed his sixth title in front of his home crowd after victories over Luke Humphries, Josh Rock and Littler during the final day. This year's campaign, however, ended in his very first match, opening up the upper section of the draw to other players. Gurney will face Ross Smith in the second round, after Smith defeated Kevin Doets 6:3 in the first round.
Humphries, Rock and Van Veen advance on the opening night
The first session produced several other important results. Luke Humphries defeated Jermaine Wattimena 6:4, although the closing stages of the match were not straightforward for him. According to Sky Sports, Humphries missed eight match darts while leading 5:3, then another three in the following leg, but still managed to stop a possible complete comeback. In the second round he will face Dirk van Duijvenbode, who recovered from a 1:4 deficit against Viktor Tingström to win 6:4. Van Duijvenbode entered the tournament as a late addition following the withdrawal of Man Lok Leung due to illness, so his progress is another example of how much the tournament line-up changed in the days before the start.
Josh Rock also progressed after a deciding leg, defeating Stephen Bunting 6:5. According to the official results reported by Sky Sports, Rock won the final three legs of the match after Bunting missed opportunities to win, and he will face Ryan Searle in the next round. Searle began with a convincing 6:2 victory over Rob Cross. Gian van Veen, one of the main Dutch hopes following Van Gerwen's elimination, defeated Chris Dobey 6:2, while Karel Sedláček beat Ben Robb 6:4. This means that half of the second-round field is already known after the opening night.
Littler against Noppert at the centre of the September 18 programme
The second half of the first round is played on September 18, with the match between Luke Littler and Danny Noppert attracting the most attention. Ahead of the tournament, the PDC listed Littler as the world number one and the third seed at the World Series of Darts Finals, while Noppert is among the experienced Dutch representatives who could receive strong support from the Amsterdam crowd. Littler won this tournament in 2024 and reached the final a year later, where he was stopped by Van Gerwen. Following the elimination of the defending champion, his half of the draw remains unchanged, but the overall picture of the tournament is already different because the top seed was knocked out before Saturday's programme.
Friday also features Gerwyn Price against Brody Klinge, James Wade against Damon Heta and Jonny Clayton against Maik Kuivenhoven. Wade arrives in Amsterdam after winning the Australian Darts Masters in August, while Clayton won the New Zealand Darts Masters earlier in the season. The PDC's overview of qualified players shows that Price is the second seed, Littler third, Humphries fourth, Van Veen fifth, Clayton sixth, Wade seventh and Stephen Bunting eighth. That seeding structure was intended to provide the framework for the closing stages, but Bunting and Van Gerwen have already been eliminated. Friday is therefore not merely a continuation of the first round, but also an evening that will define the entire lower half of the draw.
The September 18 programme opens with Adam Leek and Jim Long, followed by Motomu Sakai and Callan Rydz, Wessel Nijman and Simon Whitlock, and Nathan Aspinall and Raymond Smith. Wade and Heta, Price and Klinge, Littler and Noppert, and Clayton and Kuivenhoven then take the stage. According to the PDC and PDPA schedules, the session begins at 7 p.m. local time in Amsterdam. All first-round matches are played over a maximum of 11 legs, meaning the winner is the first player to reach six. Such a format leaves less room to recover from a poor start to a match and already produced two contests decided in the final leg on the opening night.
From the global World Series tour to the finals in Amsterdam
The World Series of Darts Finals is not a standalone event without prior context, but the culmination of an international series organised by the PDC across several continents. According to the PDC's 2026 list, leading players and regional representatives competed during the season at World Series tournaments in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Denmark, the United States, New Zealand and Australia. Amsterdam brings together the best performers from that circuit, additional players from the PDC rankings and qualifiers from the Tour Card Holder tournament. This system gives the finals a broader international field than a conventional list of the highest-ranked players. This year's field included representatives from Europe, Oceania, Asia and North America, although three late changes affected the final line-up.
The PDC announced on August 25 that the tournament's total prize fund is £450,000, of which £100,000 is allocated to the winner. According to the same announcement, Van Gerwen won the Bahrain Darts Masters and Nordic Darts Masters during the regular World Series season, Littler the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters, Humphries the US Darts Masters, Clayton the New Zealand Darts Masters and Wade the Australian Darts Masters. Those results explain why the Amsterdam tournament is more than just a final weekend: it brings together winners from different continents and combines them with players who earned their places through the overall standings and additional qualifying events. For some players, it is an opportunity to finish the international season with a trophy, while for others Amsterdam offers a rare stage in front of a large television audience. The first day's results show that seeded status does not guarantee a long stay in the draw.
The format becomes more demanding as the tournament progresses
According to information from the Professional Darts Players Association, the first round is played over a maximum of 11 legs, while the second round and quarter-finals move to a format requiring ten legs to win, or a maximum of 19 legs. The semi-finals and final are played over a maximum of 21 legs, meaning 11 are required for victory. This structure gradually reduces the impact of short runs and random fluctuations as the battle for the title approaches. After Friday, 16 players will remain, and Saturday is divided into afternoon and evening sessions for the second round. Sunday afternoon brings four quarter-finals, while both semi-finals and the final are scheduled for the evening session on September 20.
The prize money also increases by stage. The PDPA states that players eliminated in the first round receive £5,000 each, those defeated in the second round £10,000, quarter-finalists £17,500, semi-finalists £30,000, the runner-up £60,000 and the winner £100,000. The total prize fund is £450,000, matching the PDC's tournament announcement. It is an important televised event in the PDC Premier category, but the results are not treated in the same way as traditional ranking tournaments, where prize-money results are incorporated directly into the main rankings. For players, however, the value of the tournament is not only financial: the World Series Finals is one of the most visible international stages outside the World Championship and the other major televised competitions.
AFAS Live expects a very busy weekend in south-eastern Amsterdam
AFAS Live is located in the Amsterdam-Zuidoost area, in the immediate vicinity of the Johan Cruijff Arena and Ziggo Dome, and the venue itself has warned of increased congestion on September 19. According to information from AFAS Live, an Ajax match against Excelsior and an event at the Ziggo Dome are also taking place nearby on the same day, so organisers recommend arriving earlier and planning transport in advance. For visitors travelling by car, this means the possibility of heavier pressure on roads and car parks, while public transport is one of the important alternatives for reaching this part of the city. On Saturday and Sunday, the venue opens its doors one hour before the start of each session. Visitors planning to stay in the city during the finals may benefit from an overview of accommodation near AFAS Live and the wider Amsterdam area.
AFAS Live also states that the venue is cashless, with payments made by debit or credit card, and that schedules may be subject to change. Sessions are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, with the same starting times applying on Sunday. This allows spectators to watch a significantly larger number of longer matches over the final two days than during the opening evenings. Organisationally, it is a demanding schedule, especially on Sunday, when the title is decided through the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final on the same day. That final block traditionally gives the tournament a rhythm in which form, concentration and physical endurance are tested across several important matches in a short period of time.
Looking ahead to Sunday: open draw after the early exit of the top seed
Van Gerwen's defeat has already removed the defending champion from one quarter of the draw, but it does not change the fact that the tournament still features a number of players with experience of winning major PDC trophies. Littler is a former winner of this event, Price won the title in 2020 and 2022, Clayton in 2021 and Wade in 2018. Humphries is among the world's highest-ranked players, while Van Veen is trying to take advantage of the opportunity in front of his home crowd after a comfortable first-round victory. Gurney, Rock, Searle, Ross Smith, Van Duijvenbode and Sedláček have already shown how quickly the initial seeding structure can change. Therefore, only after Friday is completed will it be possible to clearly see all eight pairings for Saturday's second round.
The brightest spotlight on September 18 will be on Littler, but the evening offers several other matches that could have a major impact on the final outcome. Price against Klinge brings together the second seed and an Australian player who reached the final of the Australian Darts Masters this year, while Wade against Heta pairs the current winner of the Australian World Series event with one of Australia's most experienced professionals. Clayton faces Kuivenhoven while adapting to an opponent change caused by Toylo's withdrawal, while Aspinall against Raymond Smith is played for a place in the section of the draw leading towards the winner of the Littler - Noppert match. After the first day, one thing is already certain: the four-day format in Amsterdam has left no time for gradually warming up, and one of the biggest favourites disappeared from the draw immediately at the start. The final answer on the new champion will come on September 20, when the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are scheduled at AFAS Live.
Sources:
- Professional Darts Corporation - official announcement on the tournament field, seeds, prize fund and winners of World Series tournaments in 2026 (link)
- Professional Darts Corporation - official draw and schedule for the World Series of Darts Finals 2026 in Amsterdam (link)
- Sky Sports - opening-night results, Michael van Gerwen's elimination and the context of late replacements in the draw (link)
- Professional Darts Players Association - updated schedule, match format and prize-fund distribution (link)
- Professional Darts Corporation - report from the 2025 final and historical context of Van Gerwen's sixth title (link)
- AFAS Live - official information on times, admission, traffic congestion, payments and practical conditions for visitors (link)