Stephen Bunting will begin his defence of the Swiss Darts Trophy against either Jeffrey de Graaf or Sietse Lap this weekend in Basel, as the race for European Championship qualifying continues. The year’s penultimate European Tour event will be held at St Jakobshalle from October 9 to 11, with freshly crowned World Grand Prix champion Luke Humphries also scheduled to compete in the Swiss city.
The top 16 players on the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder will enter the competition in round two on Saturday, when top seed Humphries faces either Kevin Doets or Nick Kenny. Gian van Veen will face Niko Springer or a Host Nation representative, while Jonny Clayton will face either Raymond van Barneveld or Maik Kuivenhoven of the Netherlands. James Wade, winner of the Flanders Darts Trophy, might meet Dirk van Duijvenbode as he looks to win back-to-back European Tour titles in Switzerland.
From the original field of entries, Gerwyn Price, Gary Anderson, Nathan Aspinall and Ryan Joyce have withdrawn from the event, and have been replaced by Karel Sedlacek, Alan Soutar, Rob Owen and Nick Kenny from the Reserve List.
The tournament draw bracket – second round onwards – sees (6) Josh Rock v Dave Chisnall/Alan Soutar, (11) Wessel Nijman v Sebastian Bialecki/Karel Sedlacek, (3) Jonny Clayton v Raymond van Barneveld/Maik Kuivenhoven, (14) Luke Woodhouse v Rob Cross/Mario Vandenbogaerde, (7) Stephen Bunting v Jeffrey de Graaf/Sietse Lap, (10) Chris Dobey v Niels Zonneveld/Bradley Brooks, (2) Gian van Veen v Niko Springer/HNQ2, (15) Martin Schindler v Joe Cullen/Tom Bissell, (5) Michael van Gerwen v Mensur Suljovic/Gyorgy Jehirszki, (12) Ross Smith v William O’Connor/Jani Haavisto, (4) James Wade v Dirk van Duijvenbode/HNQ3, (13) Jermaine Wattimena v Michael Smith/Rob Owen, (8) Danny Noppert v Damon Heta/HNQ4, (9) Ryan Searle v Cameron Menzies/Cristo Reyes, (1) Luke Humphries v Kevin Doets/Nick Kenny, and (16) Krzysztof Ratajski v Andrew Gilding/HNQ1.
The schedule of play is subject to change. Friday October 9 features round one, with the afternoon session (1300 local time, 1200 BST) including Niels Zonneveld v Bradley Brooks, William O’Connor v Jani Haavisto, Mensur Suljovic v Gyorgy Jehirszki, Sebastian Bialecki v Karel Sedlacek, Niko Springer v HNQ2, Joe Cullen v Tom Bissell, Cameron Menzies v Cristo Reyes, and Rob Cross v Mario Vandenbogaerde. The evening session (1900 local time, 1800 BST) sees Andrew Gilding v HNQ1, Jeffrey de Graaf v Sietse Lap, Dave Chisnall v Alan Soutar, Raymond van Barneveld v Maik Kuivenhoven, Dirk van Duijvenbode v HNQ3, Michael Smith v Rob Owen, Damon Heta v HNQ4, and Kevin Doets v Nick Kenny.
Saturday October 10 hosts round two. The afternoon session (1300 local time, 1200 BST) includes Krzysztof Ratajski v Gilding/HNQ1, Wessel Nijman v Bialecki/Sedlacek, Luke Woodhouse v Cross/Vandenbogaerde, Martin Schindler v Cullen/Bissell, Ryan Searle v Menzies/Reyes, Ross Smith v O’Connor/Haavisto, Chris Dobey v Zonneveld/Brooks, and Jermaine Wattimena v M Smith/Owen. The evening session (1900 local time, 1800 BST) features Josh Rock v Chisnall/Soutar, Stephen Bunting v De Graaf/Lap, James Wade v Van Duijvenbode/HNQ3, Jonny Clayton v Van Barneveld/Kuivenhoven, Michael van Gerwen v Suljovic/Jehirszki, Luke Humphries v Doets/Kenny, Gian van Veen v Springer/HNQ2, and Danny Noppert v Heta/HNQ4.
Sunday October 11 concludes the event with the afternoon session (1200 local time, 1100 BST) for round three, followed by the evening session (1800 local time, 1700 BST) for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final. Sunday’s games will be played in draw bracket order.
