The final European Tour event of 2026, the Dutch Darts Championship, carries a total prize fund of £230,000, with the champion set to collect £35,000 on Sunday evening and the runner-up taking home £15,000. The tournament runs from Friday 16 to Sunday 18 October at the MECC Maastricht, marking its return to Maastricht for the first time since 2018.
Luke Humphries is the top seed, with Gian van Veen seeded second on home soil. Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton, Michael van Gerwen, Danny Noppert, Stephen Bunting, Wessel Nijman, Ross Smith and Nathan Aspinall are among the names set to be involved. Andrew Gilding heads the ProTour Order of Merit qualifiers, with Rob Cross, Damon Heta, Cameron Menzies, Dave Chisnall, Joe Cullen and Dirk van Duijvenbode also featuring via that route. 2023 world champion Michael Smith is in line to make it back-to-back European Tour events by being one of the Tour Card qualifiers.
Clayton arrives as the defending champion after defeating Niko Springer 8-4 in last year's final, and he also won last time out in the Swiss Darts Trophy, getting the better of Humphries. Ian White defeated Ricky Evans in the inaugural event in Maastricht, with Smith, Chisnall and Josh Rock all former winners.
The prize money is distributed across every round: the winner receives £35,000, the runner-up £15,000, semi-finalists £10,000, quarter-finalists £8,000, third-round exits £5,000, second-round exits £3,500* and first-round exits £2,000*. As of a few years ago, the top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit are guaranteed entry and do not need to qualify, but if a seed loses their opening game, the prize money does not count towards the rankings and will not be added to any Order of Merit. Qualifiers who move into a seeded position due to withdrawals will still get ranking money, with their earnings included on various Order of Merits.
The prize money counts towards the PDC Order of Merit, the ProTour Order of Merit and, most notably, the European Tour Order of Merit, which is decisive for the European Championship in Dortmund later this season. A player's position on that European Tour ranking also determines seeding for the season finale, with a higher position leading to a more favourable European Championship draw — and big names risking missing out if they skip events or underperform on the European Tour.
