The Sports Guru
Luke Humphries walked into Budapest as the man everyone expected to still be standing on Sunday. He wasn't. This piece explains how a player fresh off a title win can still lose, and why the survivors from a brutal Saturday in Hungary weren't always the ones with the best form.
Winning form isn't supposed to run out this quickly. Luke Humphries had claimed a Players Championship title in Leicester just three days earlier, turned up in Budapest as world number two and the man everyone tipped to lift the trophy, and by Saturday night he was heading home a round early. Dirk van Duijvenbode beat him 6-3, and few in the arena saw it coming. That's exactly why the result deserves more than a passing mention in a results column.
A favourite undone by a rival with something to prove
Humphries hadn't featured on the European Tour since his Belgian Darts Open win back in March, and his return to the format looked promising early on. None of that carried through Saturday's second-round clash with Van Duijvenbode, who had reached the World Matchplay semi-finals this summer but arrived in Hungary having lost his previous nine meetings with the world number two. That losing streak finally snapped. Trailing 3-2, the Dutchman found four straight legs and kept his average around 98 for the match. He produced a 140 finish on tops-tops that left him one leg from the win, then sealed his place in Sunday's finals day soon after.
Afterwards, the three-time European Tour runner-up didn't undersell what the victory meant to him. "Luke is a phenomenal player, but I think I'm okay as well," he said, before adding that his personal circumstances had turned a corner too: "I'm happier in life at the moment. I've had a lot of struggles, but I feel better."
It's a fairly understated response for a win that removes the tournament favourite from the draw, yet it hints at something the scoreline can't show on its own: Humphries didn't fall apart so much as run into an opponent who strung together the legs he needed at exactly the right moment. In darts, momentum can shift inside a handful of visits to the oche, and that's precisely what happened here.
Van Gerwen's route through was messier, and that's the point
Michael van Gerwen's evening looked very different. Budapest's 2024 champion went 3-1 down against world number 49 James Hurrell before turning things around to win 6-4 and secure his spot on Sunday's finals day. It wasn't the dominant darts Van Gerwen has produced elsewhere this year, but on this occasion that hardly mattered. He's through and Humphries isn't - and that gulf between playing well and simply still being in the tournament is what defined Saturday's second round more than any single performance.
Up next for Van Gerwen is Nathan Aspinall, who got past Ryan Joyce 6-4 despite finishing with the lower average on the night. Aspinall leaned on five 180s and simply had more chances at a double than Joyce did - proof that raw scoring power isn't always what decides these tight, high-pressure legs.
The whitewashes that tell their own story
Not every match in Budapest went to the wire. Gian van Veen was flawless in a 6-0 win over Hungarian qualifier Nandor Major, missing only three darts at a double across the entire match and rounding it off with a 167 finish. Josh Rock produced an identical 6-0 scoreline against a below-par Joe Cullen. Both results stand in sharp contrast to the grinding, error-heavy contests elsewhere on the day - a reminder that not everyone in Budapest had to fight for their result.
Fourth seed Jonny Clayton saw off home favourite Laszlo Kadar 6-3. Kadar had stunned Daryl Gurney the night before, giving the Hungarian crowd one evening of celebration before Clayton brought his run to a close. Keane Barry won five consecutive legs to beat Madars Razma 6-2 and reach his first European Tour finals day in three years, even though Razma left with the shot of the night - a 158 checkout finished on the bull.
Two escapes and a 14-minute ending
Rob Cross needed a second successive last-leg escape to stay in the tournament, a day after going the distance with Beau Greaves, who became the first woman to compete in a European Tour event on Friday and pushed the 2018 world champion to a decider before losing 6-5. On Saturday, Cross weathered two 136 finishes and survived missed match darts from Luke Woodhouse before closing it out 6-5 with a 130 checkout on the bull. Back-to-back deciding legs is not what a cruise through the draw looks like, but it is what a player who keeps finding answers looks like.
Defending champion Niko Springer had no such answer. His reign came to an end in just 14 minutes as Ryan Searle beat him 6-4, pinning the bull for a 121 break along the way. Springer's final chance disappeared with a missed bull attempt at a 164 checkout that would have forced a decider. Fourteen minutes is a stark amount of time in which to lose a title held for a full year.
Gary Anderson produced the standout showing of the afternoon session, claiming his first European Tour win of 2026 in style as the two-time world champion averaged 105.27 in a 6-2 dismantling of Krzysztof Ratajski. Dave Chisnall matched that with a ton-plus average of his own in beating 13th seed Wessel Nijman 6-2, and Ross Smith averaged over 101 in a 6-2 win over William O'Connor. Chris Dobey's afternoon went the opposite way: 4-0 down to Tom Sykes, he clawed back to win 6-5 and keep his hopes of a maiden European Tour title alive.
Elsewhere, Jermaine Wattimena carried his Leicester title-winning form into a 6-4 win over Andrew Gilding, while Danny Noppert missed six match darts before eventually closing out Ritchie Edhouse 6-4 - another contest that dragged on far longer than the gap in ability suggested it should.
What Sunday's finals day looks like
Sunday's afternoon session in Budapest pairs Van Duijvenbode against Cross, Van Gerwen against Aspinall, Ross Smith against Clayton, Searle against Noppert, Stephen Bunting against Anderson, Dobey against Rock, Wattimena against Van Veen, and Chisnall against Barry. Every one of those matches carries extra significance now that the tournament favourite is out of the draw, leaving a field on Sunday that looks considerably more open than anyone expected when the weekend began.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dirk van Duijvenbode beat Humphries 6-3 in the second round, ending a nine-match losing run against the world number two.
Yes. His outing in Budapest was his first European Tour appearance since he won the Belgian Darts Open title in March.
Van Gerwen recovered from 3-1 down to beat James Hurrell 6-4, keeping alive his bid for a second Hungarian Darts Trophy title after winning it in 2024.
Springer's title defence ended in a 6-4 defeat to Ryan Searle that lasted just 14 minutes, with Springer missing a bull for a 164 checkout that would have forced a decider.
The pairings are Van Duijvenbode v Cross, Van Gerwen v Aspinall, Smith v Clayton, Searle v Noppert, Bunting v Anderson, Dobey v Rock, Wattimena v Van Veen, and Chisnall v Barry.
Research: This article uses the archived evidence supplied for this story. Story inspiration: Sky Sports' original report.
