When Munich’s Zenith turns into Bavaria’s Ally Pally festival tent, it’s time for the ELTEN Safety Shoes German Darts Grand Prix 2026. Over the Easter weekend, the state capital becomes the epicentre of the darts world. Here, where the atmosphere is as exuberant as at the Oktoberfest, all eyes are on one man: Michael van Gerwen.
After his triumphant victory last year, MvG returns to one of his favourite venues as defending champion and four-time record winner. But the pressure in Munich is enormous: Germany’s number one, Martin Schindler, is eager to break through the phalanx of top stars in front of his home crowd and bring the title to German territory for the first time.
General tournament information
Date: 04 to 06 April 2026
Venue: Zenith, Munich (Germany)
Competition: European Tour (Event No. 4)
Field of participants: 48 players
Match overview with session information
The tournament will be played in the classic knockout system. The first four rounds will be played in a best of 11 legs format, the semi-finals in a best of 13 legs format and the final in a best of 15 legs format. All legs will be played in double-out mode. Tickets for the individual sessions are available HERE.
Match schedule & sessions
Saturday, 04 April 2026
Afternoon session (from 1 p.m.) – 1st round
William O’Connor 6:2 Sebastian Bialecki
Ryan Joyce 6:1 Finn Behrens
Krzysztof Ratajski 6:3 Thomas Lovely
Niels Zonneveld 6:3 Adam Lipscombe
Cameron Menzies 4:6 Karel Sedlacek
Ritchie Edhouse 6:3 Kevin Troppmann
Wessel Nijman 4:6 Andrew Gilding
Joe Cullen 3:6 Patrik Kovacs
Evening session (from 7 p.m.) – 1st round
Michael Smith 6:2 James Hurrell
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6:2 Stephen Burton
Brendan Dolan 6:5 Cor Dekker
Kevin Doets 6:0 Anton Ostlund
Raymond van Barneveld 4:6 Marcel Hausotter
Peter Wright 3:6 Kim Huybrechts
Ricardo Pietreczko 6:5 Ian White
Niko Springer 6:5 Jan Schmidt
Sunday, 05 April 2026
Afternoon session (from 1 p.m.) – 2nd round
Ross Smith 6:2 Patrik Kovacs
Jermaine Wattimena 1:6 Niels Zonneveld
Damon Heta 2:6 Karel Sedlacek
Daryl Gurney 5:6 Andrew Gilding
Ryan Searle 5:6 Krzysztof Ratajski
Danny Noppert 6:5 Ritchie Edhouse
Mike De Decker 5:6 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Dave Chisnall 5:6 Michael Smith
Evening session (from 7 p.m.) – 2nd round
Luke Woodhouse 1:6 Kim Huybrechts
Josh Rock 6:4 Ryan Joyce
James Wade 5:6 Kevin Doets
Jonny Clayton 6:5 Marcel Hausotter
Michael van Gerwen 1:6 Niko Springer
Nathan Aspinall 6:5 Ricardo Pietreczko
Martin Schindler 6:4 Brendan Dolan
Gian van Veen 2:6 William O’Connor
Monday, 06 April 2026
Afternoon session (from 1 p.m.) – Round of 16
Danny Noppert 6:2 Karel Sedlacek
Jonny Clayton 6:4 Kim Huybrechts
Krzysztof Ratajski 6:4 Ross Smith
Niko Springer 4:6 Michael Smith
Josh Rock 5:6 Niels Zonneveld
Kevin Doets 6:5 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Nathan Aspinall 6:2 Martin Schindler
William O’Connor 1:6 Andrew Gilding
Evening session (from 7 p.m.) – Quarter-finals, semi-finals & final
Danny Noppert 6:1 Jonny Clayton
Krzysztof Ratajski 6:2 Michael Smith
Niels Zonneveld 5:6 Kevin Doets
Nathan Aspinall 6:4 Andrew Gilding
Danny Noppert 7:2 Krzysztof Ratajski
Kevin Doets 2:7 Nathan Aspinall
Danny Noppert 5:8 Nathan Aspinall
The top-ranked players in the PDC Order of Merit will enter the tournament in the second round, while the remaining players will compete in the first round.
Prize money
In 2026, the prize money for European Tour events was significantly increased. A total of £230,000 will be distributed as follows:
- Winner: £ 35,000
- Runner-up: £ 15,000
- Semi-finalists: £ 10,000
- Quarter-finalists: £ 8,000
- Round of 16: £ 5,000
- Second round: £ 3,500
- First round: £ 2,000
The prize money counts towards the PDC Order of Merit, the ProTour Order of Merit and the European Tour Order of Merit (qualification for the European Championship).
Qualification
The field of participants is made up of various qualification routes to ensure a mix of world stars and regional talent:
Top 16 of the PDC Order of Merit: Luke Littler*, Luke Humphries*, Gian van Veen, Michael van Gerwen, Jonny Clayton, Gary Anderson*, Stephen Bunting*, James Wade, Josh Rock, Danny Noppert, Ryan Searle, Gerwyn Price*, Chris Dobey*, Nathan Aspinall, Martin Schindler, Ross Smith (Automatically qualified for the second round on Saturday)
Top 16 of the ProTour Order of Merit: Wessel Nijman, Damon Heta, Jermaine Wattimena, Cameron Menzies, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Luke Woodhouse, William O’Connor, Niko Springer, Ryan Joyce, Krzysztof Ratajski, Mike De Decker, Dave Chisnall, Joe Cullen, Niels Zonneveld, Daryl Gurney, Raymond van Barneveld
Tour Card Holder Qualifier: Thomas Lovely, Stephen Burton, Michael Smith, Adam Lipscombe, Sebastian Białecki, Kevin Doets, Kim Huybrechts, Brendan Dolan, James Hurrell, Ritchie Edhouse
Host Nation Qualifier: Jan Schmidt, Marcel Hausotter, Kevin Troppmann, Finn Behrens
Nordic & Baltic Qualifier: Anton Östlund
East Europe Qualifier: Patrik Kovács
*Luke Littler and Stephen Bunting withdrew from the tournament in advance. They were replaced by Ricardo Pietreczko and Peter Wright via the Pro Tour Rankings.Luke Humphries, Gary Anderson, Gerwyn Price, and Chris Dobey subsequently withdrew from the tournament. They were replaced by Andrew Gilding, Ian White, Karel Sedláček, and Cor Dekker from the reserve list.
TV broadcast
Fans can watch the entire tournament live. The ELTEN Safety Shoes German Darts Grand Prix will be broadcast on the following channels:
PDC TV:
International live stream for subscribers (original commentary).
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Current scores and highlights can be found on the PDC Europe channels.
DAZN:
Broadcasts all sessions live in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in German.
SPORT1:
Live coverage of all sessions on German television.
Previous winners
- 2025: Michael van Gerwen 8:5 Gian van Veen
- 2024: Luke Humphries 8:1 Michael van Gerwen
- 2023: Michael Smith 8:5 Nathan Aspinall
- 2022: Luke Humphries 8:2 Martin Lukeman
- 2019: Michael van Gerwen 8:3 Simon Whitlock
- 2018: Michael van Gerwen 8:5 Peter Wright
- 2017: Michael van Gerwen 6:3 Rob Cross
