2026 European Darts Championship: Second round predictions and previews originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
On Saturday at the 2026 European Darts Championship, 16 players will battle for the 8 available quarterfinal spots in Sunday's afternoon session.
The length of the matches will expand, and we could see some more fireworks, so let's take a look at what to expect.
2026 European Darts Championship: Second round predictions and previews
Here are my predictions for the second round.
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Ross Smith vs. Damon Heta
Winner: Damon Heta, 10-8
Both players had similar first-round matches, but one player's performance stood out more than the other.
Heta picked up a huge win against James Wade in the first round, and although he won despite surviving several match darts, his clutch darts during the key parts of the match were why he deserved the win.
This feels like one of those matches where either Heta will narrowly win, or Smith will outplay him and win comfortably.
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Gian van Veen vs. Luke Woodhouse
Winner: Gian van Veen, 10-7
GVV had a steady opening performance against Andrew Gilding.
There's still room for him to grow, especially with the format expanding in the second round.
Woodhouse played exceptionally well himself against Dirk van Duijvenbode, notably hitting a 9-darter, but I believe the expanded format will favor GVV here.
Cameron Menzies vs. Gerwyn Price
Winner: Gerwyn Price, 10-6
Menzies took down Niels Zonneveld in the opening round, just after he won the Dutch Darts Championship this past weekend.
He's facing a determined Price, though, who has struggled against few players at events this year.
He had a strong opening match against Rob Cross, and Price won't drop this one to Menzies unless he struggles on the outer ring.
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Stephen Bunting vs. Kim Huybrechts
Winner: Kim Huybrechts, 10-8
Matches like this haven't favored Bunting recently, as he's dropped a lot of them on the ET this year.
Huybrechts was the far more impressive player in the opening round, so I'll give him the edge here, but Bunting did hit some clutch shots against Danny Noppert, including a 160 match-winner in the deciding leg.
Martin Schindler vs. Jermaine Wattimena
Winner: Martin Schindler, 10-8
To the casual fan, this might not be the most exciting match on Saturday, but it could be a tight one.
Schindler had a quality win in the opening round, and will once again have the support of the German fans, so I'd expect him to be a slight favorite entering the day.
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Jonny Clayton vs. Josh Rock
Winner: Josh Rock, 10-9
Rock took care of business in the opening round against Chris Dobey, but a match against Clayton will be much more difficult.
However, I like Rock's chances, as he's been playing well at majors, so it wouldn't surprise me to see Rock get the win here.
Krzysztof Ratajski vs. Kevin Doets
Winner: Kevin Doets, 10-7
These two players had an epic game at Alexandra Palace a couple of years ago, with Doets pulling off a memorable comeback.
He's won matches like that at majors before, but this one could be one of his biggest career moments, as he's never made a major quarterfinal.
Ratajski didn't have to do anything special against Dave Chisnall, but he'll need to play much better to get past Doets this time.
Nathan Aspinall vs. Luke Littler
Winner: Luke Littler, 10-7
Littler and Aspinall always seem to be on a collision course at major events.
Aspinall is still searching for that big victory against Littler, but I don't think it will happen quite yet, especially after a statement win by Littler in the first round, when Littler averaged around 105 against William O'Connor.
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