Swiss Darts Trophy 2026: Humphries top seed in Basel as Littler skips and Bunting defends his title

Fresh from his comeback win at the World Grand Prix, Luke Humphries goes to Basel this weekend as the top seed for the 2026 Swiss Darts Trophy. The 48-player PDC European Tour event runs from Friday, 9 October to Sunday, 11 October at the St. Jakobshalle, with £230,000 in prize money on offer and £35,000 for the winner.

The tournament will be without world number one Luke Littler, who has chosen to skip both Basel and next week's Dutch Darts Championship in Maastricht, meaning he will miss the rest of the European Tour season. Dave Chisnall takes the place he would have filled in the field.

Who is playing

The top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit are seeded and start in the second round on Saturday. Behind Humphries, the seeds are Gian van Veen, Jonny Clayton, James Wade, Michael van Gerwen, Josh Rock, Gerwyn Price, defending champion Stephen Bunting, Danny Noppert, Ryan Searle, Gary Anderson, Chris Dobey, Wessel Nijman, Nathan Aspinall, Ross Smith and Jermaine Wattimena.

The 32 unseeded players play in Friday's first round. Sixteen came in through the Pro Tour Order of Merit, a list that includes last year's runner-up Luke Woodhouse, Rob Cross, Martin Schindler, Damon Heta, Joe Cullen, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Krzysztof Ratajski. Ten more won through the tour card holder qualifier in July, among them Michael Smith, Raymond van Barneveld, Mensur Suljovic and Cristo Reyes. The field is completed by associate member qualifiers, including Finland's Jani Haavisto and Hungary's Gyorgy Jehirszki, and Swiss players from the host nation qualifier on Thursday, 8 October. The draw is confirmed on Thursday.

Format and prize money

The event is a straight knockout. The first four rounds are best of 11 legs, the semi-finals best of 13 and the final best of 15. The round of 16 and quarter-finals are played on Sunday afternoon, with the semi-finals and final on Sunday evening.

The prize breakdown is £35,000 for the champion, £15,000 for the runner-up, £10,000 for each semi-finalist and £8,000 for each quarter-finalist. Third-round losers take £5,000, second-round losers £3,500 and first-round losers £2,000. Under PDC rules, a seeded player who loses his opening match does not have that prize money counted towards the Orders of Merit, so the seeds have extra reason to avoid an early exit.

Storylines to follow

Humphries arrives in form after recovering from 3-0 down to beat Gerwyn Price 6-4 in the World Grand Prix final last weekend. With Littler absent, he is the clear name to beat, with second seed Gian van Veen and fifth seed Michael van Gerwen among the main challengers.

Bunting won the title last year by beating Woodhouse 8-3 in the final, and he returns as the eighth seed. Woodhouse, unseeded this time, has to come through Friday's first round to reach a potential rematch. Germany's Martin Schindler, who also features in the Pro Tour qualifiers, will be another player the Basel crowd follows closely.

This is the second-last European Tour stop of 2026, with the Dutch Darts Championship at the MECC Maastricht from 16 to 18 October to come.

Times in Malaysia

Basel is six hours behind Malaysia. Friday and Saturday afternoon sessions begin at 1pm local time, which is 7pm in Malaysia, and the evening sessions start at 7pm local, or 1am the following morning in Malaysia. On Sunday the afternoon session starts at 12pm local (6pm Malaysia time) and the final session, including the semi-finals and the final, begins at 6pm local, which is midnight in Malaysia.

Key takeaways

• The Swiss Darts Trophy runs 9 to 11 October at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel with a 48-player field.
• Luke Humphries is top seed; Luke Littler is skipping the last two European Tour events.
• Stephen Bunting defends the title he won 8-3 against Luke Woodhouse in 2025.
• The winner earns £35,000 from a £230,000 prize fund.
• Sunday's final session starts at midnight Malaysia time.

FAQ

Why is Luke Littler not playing in Basel? Littler has opted to skip both the Swiss Darts Trophy and the Dutch Darts Championship, the final two European Tour events of the season. Dave Chisnall takes his place in the field.

Who won the Swiss Darts Trophy last year? Stephen Bunting won the 2025 edition, beating Luke Woodhouse 8-3 in the final.

What time is the final in Malaysia? The Sunday evening session, which includes the semi-finals and final, starts at 6pm in Basel, which is midnight in Malaysia, so the final will finish in the early hours of Monday, 12 October.

Sources: PDC Europe, Darts News, Wikipedia