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International Darts Open: Michael van Gerwen and Gian van Veen in action as Stephen Bunting begins title defence in Riesa

Stephen Bunting begins International Darts Open title defence with match against Krzysztof Ratajski; James Wade will face Dave Chisnall in the second round, while Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen are also in action; watch Premier League Darts live on Sky Sports

Stephen Bunting: Premier League Darts
Image: Stephen Bunting is defending his International Darts Open crown in Riesa

Stephen Bunting is looking for his first European tour title of the season as he takes on defending champion Krzysztof Ratajski in the second round of the International Darts Open on Saturday.

It comes after Bunting wrapped up the curtain on the league stage of the Premier League Darts season, beating Luke Humphries 6-3 to win in Sheffield.

Meanwhile, No 1 seed and defending European champion Gian van Veen is set to take on Connor Scutt in the second round, as Chris Dobey faces Kim Huybrechts in the evening session.

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Bunting was a surprise guest during the Coventry City title-winning celebrations!
Dave Chisnall, PDC darts (PA Images)
Image: Dave Chisnall faces James Wade in the second round

Three all-English second-round match-ups have also been drawn. No 3 seed James Wade takes on world No 6 James Wade, while Ross Smith and Joe Cullen will also go head to head. Cullen bested Dutchman Chris Landman 6-5 to gain a berth in the second round.

Meanwhile, 20-year-old tour debutant Charlie Manby will also face off against English opponent in Ryan Searle, after beating German Niko Springer 6-3 in the first round.

Rob Cross bested Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 to line up a second-round match against 2024 World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker.

Michael van Gerwen is also in action against Madars Razma, with the Dutchman out to bounce back following his defeat by Humphries during their Premier League Darts quarter-finals clash on Thursday.

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Gerwyn Price withdrew from the tournament earlier this week and was replaced by Christian Kist, who will take on Englishman Ryan Joyce.

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Josh Rock broke Gian van Veen with 121-bull finish in Night 15 of the Premier League in Birmingham

Following the conclusion of round two, the remaining 16 players will return to battle it out from 11am BST on Sunday.

The tournament reaches its climax with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in a bumper evening session, which begins from the earlier time of 5pm.

2026 International Darts Open second-round bracket:

Players seeded based on PDC Ranking position

(1) Gian van Veen vs Connor Scutt
(9) Chris Dobey vs Kim Huybrechts
(4) Stephen Bunting vs Krzysztof Ratajski
(13) Mike De Decker vs Rob Cross
(5) Christian Kist vs Ryan Joyce
(12) Jermaine Wattimena vs Bradley Brooks
(2) Michael van Gerwen vs Madars Razma
(15) Damon Heta vs Niels Zonneveld
(7) Danny Noppert vs Ricardo Pietreczko
(10) Ross Smith vs Joe Cullen
(3) James Wade vs Dave Chisnall
(14) Wessel Nijman vs William O'Connor
(6) Josh Rock vs Cameron Menzies
(11) Martin Schindler vs Karel Sedlacek

Schedule of Play -
Friday May 22
Round One
Afternoon Session - 12pm

Ryan Joyce 6-2 Jeffrey Sparidaans
Connor Scutt 6-1 Finn Behrens
Madars Razma 6-2 Gyorgy Jehirszki
Andrew Gilding 4-6 Bradley Brooks
Cameron Menzies 6-5 Michael Unterbuchner
Karel Sedlacek 6-0 Johan Engstrom
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-2 Maik Kuivenhoven
Niels Zonneveld 6-2 Keane Barry

Evening Session (6pm)
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Liam Maendl-Lawrance
Kevin Doets 6-0 Tom Bissell
William O'Connor 6-2 Paul Krohne
Joe Cullen 6-5 Chris Landman
Dirk van Duijvenbode 5-6 Rob Cross
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Cristo Reyes
Niko Springer 3-6 Charlie Manby
Daryl Gurney 2-6 Kim Huybrechts

Saturday May 23
Round Two
Afternoon Session (12pm)

Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Bradley Brooks
Damon Heta 6-2 Niels Zonneveld
Kevin Doets 6-5 Luke Woodhouse
Ricardo Pietreczko 6-5 Danny Noppert
Ross Smith vs Joe Cullen
Mike De Decker vs Rob Cross
Wessel Nijman vs William O'Connor
Josh Rock vs Cameron Menzies

Evening Session (6pm)

Chris Dobey vs Kim Huybrechts
James Wade vs Dave Chisnall
Ryan Searle vs Charlie Manby
Christian Kist vs Ryan Joyce
Gian van Veen vs Connor Scutt
Michael van Gerwen vs Madars Razma
Stephen Bunting vs Krzysztof Ratajski
Martin Schindler vs Karel Sedlacek

Sunday May 24
Afternoon Session (11am)

Round Three

Evening Session (5pm)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final

Sunday's games played in Draw Bracket order

Who will win this year's Premier League Darts? Watch the action every single Thursday until finals night in London on May 28 on Sky Sports. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.