Swiss Darts Trophy: Van Gerwen and holder Bunting crash out as Jonny Clayton averages 108.81 in Basel

Michael van Gerwen's miserable European Tour season got worse on Saturday 10 October, when Mensur Suljovic beat him 6-4 in the second round of the Swiss Darts Trophy in Basel. The defending champion went out too: Jeffrey de Graaf beat Stephen Bunting 6-4. On a busy evening at the St. Jakobshalle, Jonny Clayton averaged 108.81 and top seed Luke Humphries only just got through against Kevin Doets.

Van Gerwen's slump goes on

Suljovic built a 5-2 lead and held on for his fourth straight win over the Dutchman. Both players averaged a little over 91. The defeat means Van Gerwen has gone out after his first match at five of his last six events. It is also the first time since the European Tour began in 2012 that he has lost his opening game at four of its events in one season. The others were the European Darts Trophy, the German Darts Grand Prix and the Flanders Darts Trophy.

Bunting won the title in Basel last year, beating Luke Woodhouse 8-3 in the final, but he could not repeat it. De Graaf went 4-1 up. Bunting then won three legs in a row to level at 4-4, before De Graaf took the last two legs, finishing with a 68 checkout. Reports say the defeat leaves Bunting's hopes of reaching this month's European Championship close to over.

Clayton's big average and a scare for Humphries

Clayton beat Maik Kuivenhoven 6-1 with a 108.81 average, which reports say is the second-highest ever recorded at this event. He took out 170 and 121 along the way. Kuivenhoven had knocked out Raymond van Barneveld on the opening night.

Humphries won 6-5 even though Doets averaged more, 105.64 to his 102.85. Doets forced a deciding leg, and Humphries missed double 16 for a 109 checkout before finally sealing the win. Gian van Veen needed only about nine minutes to whitewash Niko Springer 6-0. Dirk van Duijvenbode beat James Wade 6-5 after Wade missed four match darts.

Full second-round results

Afternoon session: Krzysztof Ratajski 6-2 Stefan Bellmont, Karel Sedlacek 6-4 Wessel Nijman, Rob Cross 6-4 Luke Woodhouse, Tom Bissell 6-4 Martin Schindler, Cristo Reyes 6-4 Ryan Searle, Ross Smith 6-4 William O'Connor, Bradley Brooks 6-4 Chris Dobey and Michael Smith 6-4 Jermaine Wattimena. Smith's win keeps his European Championship hopes going.

Evening session: Josh Rock 6-5 Dave Chisnall, De Graaf 6-4 Bunting, Van Duijvenbode 6-5 Wade, Clayton 6-1 Kuivenhoven, Suljovic 6-4 Van Gerwen, Humphries 6-5 Doets, Van Veen 6-0 Springer and Damon Heta 6-3 Danny Noppert.

That means 10 of the 16 seeded players, who all started in round two, lost their first match: Bunting, Van Gerwen, Wade, Noppert, Nijman, Woodhouse, Schindler, Searle, Dobey and Wattimena. The field was already missing some big names. Luke Littler withdrew before the qualifiers, and Gerwyn Price, Gary Anderson and Nathan Aspinall also pulled out.

Last-16 draw for Sunday 11 October

The tournament finishes on Sunday. The third round is in the afternoon session in Basel, and the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final follow in the evening. For fans in Malaysia, that means play starts on Sunday evening and the final is likely to finish in the early hours of Monday.

The third-round matches are Rock v Sedlacek, Clayton v Cross, De Graaf v Brooks, Van Veen v Bissell, Suljovic v Ross Smith, Van Duijvenbode v Michael Smith, Heta v Reyes and Humphries v Ratajski. The winner gets £35,000 from a total prize fund of £230,000.

Key takeaways

• Mensur Suljovic beat Michael van Gerwen 6-4, his fourth win in a row against him.
• Defending champion Stephen Bunting lost 6-4 to Jeffrey de Graaf.
• Jonny Clayton averaged 108.81 to beat Maik Kuivenhoven 6-1.
• Luke Humphries beat Kevin Doets 6-5 even though Doets averaged 105.64.
• Ten of the 16 seeds lost their opening match. The tournament finishes on Sunday 11 October.

FAQ

Who knocked Michael van Gerwen out of the Swiss Darts Trophy? Mensur Suljovic beat him 6-4 in the second round on Saturday 10 October.

Is the defending champion still in the tournament? No. Stephen Bunting, who won in 2025, lost 6-4 to Jeffrey de Graaf.

When is the Swiss Darts Trophy final? The final is on Sunday 11 October in Basel and closes the evening session. In Malaysia, that is likely to be early on Monday morning.

Sources: Dartsnews.com, Wikipedia