First round (pictured in 2025) was one of three former world champions to go out in the first round. The first round (best of 11
legs) was played on 17 April.
Cameron Menzies registered a
three-dart average of 104.50 to defeat five-time world champion
Raymond van Barneveld 6–3. "I felt tremendous there. I wish I could play like that all the time," commented Menzies, who hailed Van Barneveld as a hero of his growing up. Two other former world champions were eliminated in the first round:
Peter Wright, the winner of the
2017 European Darts Grand Prix, lost 6–3 to
Jeffrey de Zwaan, while
2023 champion
Rob Cross was beaten 6–2 by
Mickey Mansell. Host nation qualifier
Michael Unterbuchner earned his second European Tour victory by defeating
William O'Connor in a
deciding leg; the other three host nation qualifiers—Michael Hurtz, Paul Krohne and Robin Masino—lost to
Krzysztof Ratajski,
Andrew Gilding, and
Niko Springer, respectively. Latvian qualifier Valters Melderis became the 600th player to compete on the European Tour as he beat
Karel Sedláček 6–5; his compatriot
Madars Razma lost 6–4 to
Damon Heta.
Wessel Nijman, who won
Players Championship 10 earlier in the week, defeated
2023 champion
Ian White 6–2.
Oskar Lukasiak missed nine
match darts before eventually sealing a 6–5 win over
Daryl Gurney.
Keane Barry landed
checkouts of 124 and 130 on his way to defeating
Niels Zonneveld 6–3. Two-time defending champion
Gary Anderson was eliminated in a 6–3 defeat to Niko Springer. Progressing to a third-round meeting with
Danny Noppert after the Dutchman beat Oskar Lukasiak 6–5, Springer recounted the pair's final at the
2025 Hungarian Darts Trophy, calling Noppert a "fantastic player" who he would have to "play the same level" against the following day. The
2016 and
2018 champion
Michael van Gerwen was the only former winner of the tournament to advance to the third round, defeating Michael Unterbuchner 6–2. Following the match, Van Gerwen was critical of his opponent, stating: "He's never beaten me in his life and he will never beat me in his life. He's not good enough. Even my B-game and C-game beats him but who cares?" He added: "The day I'm going to worry myself about Unterbuchner, that's the day I'm going to quit playing darts." The final day saw Ross Smith and Gerwyn Price reach the final. Smith began the day by defeating Josh Rock in a deciding leg, and advanced to the title decider following a 6–4 win against Nathan Aspinall and a 7–5 victory over Krzysztof Ratajski. Meanwhile, Price defeated Chris Dobey 6–4 before winning a deciding leg against Martin Schindler, who missed a match dart at
double 5 to eliminate the Welshman. In the semi-finals, Price defeated Wessel Nijman 7–4 in a rematch of the
European Darts Trophy final. Smith looked to win his first European Tour title in his fourth final, while Price, competing in his second European Tour final in two appearances in 2026, aimed to win his tenth title. Price started the final by taking a 3–0 lead, but a run of four consecutive legs from Smith that included two
breaks of throw saw the Englishman go in front. Price responded with a 130 checkout to equalise at 4–4. Momentum shifted in Price's favour when Smith missed five darts at double to go 6–5 ahead, allowing Price to reclaim the lead with a break. "We [Price and Smith] have both had great tournaments and I was just struggling to get over the winning line," admitted Price after the match. On his title milestone, he joked: "I've been in the PDC for 12 years now, so less than one a year on average isn't very good." Speaking in defeat, Smith said: "It's fine margins. You're playing the best players in the world—if you don't hit your doubles, you're going to get punished." He concluded: "It is what it is. I'll crack on with the next one." == Draw ==