The Dart Side of Life - Die Adrian Geiler Kolumne#7: Darts 2026: A Season Packed with Highlights and Big Opportunities

The new darts season kicks off in spectacular fashion and promises an exceptional year with rising prize money and major tournaments across the calendar. From the European Tour to the World Championship, excitement and high-stakes drama await month after month.

Hello dear darts fans,

the new darts season is underway – and it’s starting the way it finished. Luke Littler wins the opening event with the World Masters and moves one step closer to the Career Grand Slam. Only the European Darts Championship and the World Cup of Darts remain, and he will have achieved everything a darts player can possibly achieve. In theory, he could do it this year – as a teenager. Just a few years ago, something like that would have been unthinkable in darts.

 But Luke Littler is defying the laws of darts. More or less single-handedly, he has also helped usher in a massive new darts season. Thanks to the new TV deal in the UK, there is more prize money in darts than ever before. Players, both men and women, are benefiting from this. That means there are golden opportunities again and again to give a career the decisive push. And for me, there is (at least) one absolute highlight every single month.

FEBRUARY: Poland Darts Open
For the first time, the European Tour is stopping by in Poland. After three extraordinarily successful World Series tournaments, the PDC has seen enough and is sending the “Greatest Tour in Sports” to Kraków with a ranking event – and as the very first tournament of the new season! Especially for the Polish BULL’S players Krzysztof Ratajski, Tytus Kanik, and Krzysztof Kciuk, this will be a very special event (provided the latter two qualify).

MARCH: The UK Open
Anyone talking about the UK Open likes to use the term “FA Cup of darts.” Well, be that as it may: every year it’s an unbelievable darts festival. 160 players, a jam-packed opening day with 128 matches on eight stages, plus the live draw on stage (this year for the first time without John McDonald). I’ve covered this tournament several times. These are the most intense days of darts of the year.

APRIL: The Power Month
No other month features as much darts as April. Five Premier League nights, including Manchester (Luke Littler’s home game), Rotterdam (home games for Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen), and Liverpool (Stephen Bunting’s home game). On top of that, there are two European Tour events (during Easter traditionally in Munich, plus the European Tour evergreen venue in Sindelfingen), four Players Championship tournaments, and four European Tour qualifiers. And then there’s also the second block of the Development Tour, where the BULL’S title holders in this series, Leon Weber and Danny Jansen, are among the favourites. Felix Springer is also looking to follow in the footsteps of his brother Niko.

MAY: The Premier League Playoffs
No other tournament outside the World Championship offers the winner as much prize money as the Premier League. A total of £1.25 million is distributed among the eight selected players. Whoever wins the elite competition pockets £350,000. And it all comes down to one night at the O2 Arena, in front of 14–15,000 fans. That’s a blockbuster day in darts. The Premier League final is one of the biggest money games in the sport.

JUNE: The World Cup of Darts
No darts tournament in 2026 will be as colourful and international as the Team World Championship in Frankfurt. And there is probably no tournament where the chances of a German major title are as high as here. BULL’S player Martin Schindler will once again lead Team Germany. Together with Gabriel Clemens and Ricardo Pietreczko, he has already reached the semifinals. Will they go one step further this time? And how will BULL’S returnee Cristo Reyes perform as Spain’s captain?

JULY: The World Matchplay
Darts is a winter sport?! Come on. The World Matchplay is a must for every darts fan. Played in a golden hall, in blistering heat, right in the middle of summer by the sea. Legends are born here. With BULL’S player Niko Springer, a promising German talent is very likely to make his debut this year – automatically making him a player to watch in Blackpool.

AUGUST: The Final Weekend of the NextGen
Things are a bit more low-key on the development series for the German-speaking region run by PDC Europe. But that doesn’t mean anyone is taking it easy. Quite the opposite: the final two weekends, with two tournaments each in Sindelfingen, will be an all-out battle. After all, there are 16 spots in the Super League up for grabs – and that league, as we know, leads straight to the Ally Pally. Just ask BULL’S player Arno Merk.

SEPTEMBER: The World Grand Prix
If you think of a 54-year-old British musician when you hear “DIDO,” you’ve got good taste – but in the darts world, you’d be mistaken. DIDO (Double In, Double Out) is the format of the PDC’s third-oldest major tournament: the World Grand Prix. You can only start scoring once you’ve hit a double. This causes the momentum of a match to swing constantly. A tournament where anything can happen. By the way, BULL’S player Niko Springer has already managed to throw a nine-darter in this format – in the inaugural Next Gen season in 2024.

OCTOBER: European Darts Championship
Germany seems to be Luke Littler’s weak spot. In the Bundesrepublik, the two-time world champion has never won a tournament – in any tour or series. He’ll have to change that if he wants to complete the Career Grand Slam. The European Tour season finale in Dortmund also brings back great memories for BULL’S pro Jermaine Wattimena: in 2024, he reached his first major final here.

NOVEMBER: TCH Qualifier
Grand Slam? Fair enough, especially with a new format featuring 48 players and groups of three for the 20th anniversary. Players Championship Finals? Also, nice – a cool tournament in November. But what I’m most excited about is the day after. After the World Championship dress rehearsal comes the final chance for all tour card holders who haven’t yet qualified to secure a spot at the Ally Pally. And immediately afterward, we switch fully into World Championship mode with the draw for the spectacle at the Ally Pally.

DECEMBER: The World Championship
Do I really need to say more? The highlight of the year, the climax of the season, once again with a prize fund of one million pounds for the world champion. I’m already getting goosebumps just thinking about it.

2026, bring it on!
Game on,
yours, Adrian