Belgian Darts Open: Former world champions Michael Smith and Raymond van Barneveld eliminated in first round
Raymond Van Barneveld and Michael Smith, both former world champions, suffered first-round defeats at the Belgian Darts Open; you can watch Premier League Darts live on Sky Sports every Thursday all the way through until the finale at The O2 on May 28
Friday 20 March 2026 22:50, UK
Former world champions Michael Smith and Raymond Van Barneveld were early casualties at the Belgian Darts Open in Wieze.
Smith crashed out 6-3 to Ireland's Mickey Mansell, who landed two ton-plus checkouts - including a sublime 161 outshot.
Mansell now faces another former World Champion in Michael van Gerwen.
Five-time world champion Van Barneveld, in a first European Tour appearance of 2026, was beaten 6-1 by Boris Krcmar.
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The enigmatic Croatian reaffirmed his big-stage pedigree, averaging 101 and landing 116 and 121 finishes to set up a fascinating showdown against reigning champion Luke Littler.
Wessel Nijman's bid for back-to-back European Tour titles was ended by a 6-3 defeat to Sebastian Bialecki.
Dave Chisnall, Luke Woodhouse, Ricky Evans and Ryan Joyce were among the first-round winners on the opening day of the tournament.
Two-time European Tour winner Kim Huybrechts was arguably Friday's stand-out performer, averaging 101.76 to record a terrific 6-4 victory over Germany's Niko Springer.
"This is what you play darts for," reflected Belgium's former World Cup finalist, who will go head-to-head with Josh Rock in round two.
"The feeling you get when you play in front of your home crowd and you win - this is amazing.
"I'm feeling really good lately. I'm working very hard on my game with Eric [Clarys], and you have to work hard to be at the top level."
Andy Baetens also delivered the goods on home soil, defying a 101 average from Joe Cullen to deny the former Masters champion in a last-leg thriller, which sets up a meeting with fifth seed Stephen Bunting.
Results
2026 Lecot Belgian Darts Open
Friday March 20
Round One
Afternoon Session
Niels Zonneveld 6-4 Jani Haavisto
Luke Woodhouse 6-2 Pascal Devroey
Ricky Evans 6-2 Scott Williams
Ryan Joyce 6-4 Adam Gawlas
Cameron Menzies 6-1 Sietse Lap
William O'Connor 6-1 Tyler Thorpe
Ryan Meikle 6-4 Francois Schweyen
Mickey Mansell 6-3 Michael Smith
Evening Session
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Thibault Tricole
Cristo Reyes 6-4 Krzysztof Ratajski
Andy Baetens 6-5 Joe Cullen
Sebastian Bialecki 6-3 Wessel Nijman
Boris Krcmar 6-1 Raymond van Barneveld
Daryl Gurney 6-1 Ian White
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Niko Springer
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Lukas Wenig
Who will win this year's Premier League Darts? Luke Humphries is defending his title and you can watch the action every single Thursday until May on Sky Sports. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
