2026 German Darts Grand Prix

First round

The first round (best of 11 legs) was played on 4 April.^[14] Hungarian qualifier Patrik Kovács earned his first European Tour victory in his eighth appearance, defeating Joe Cullen 6–3 to become the first Hungarian player to win a match on the European Tour outside of Hungary. Speaking after the match, Kovács conceded that Cullen failed to play his best game, but expressed that it was his "dream to win a game here".^[14] Host nation qualifier Marcel Hausotter also claimed his first win by beating five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld 6–4, twelve years after his first European Tour appearance at the 2014 German Darts Masters. The other three host nation qualifiers—Finn Behrens, Kevin Troppmann, and Jan Schmidt—lost to Ryan Joyce, Ritchie Edhouse, and Niko Springer, respectively.^[15]

Wessel Nijman, the winner of the 2026 European Darts Trophy, suffered his second successive first-round defeat on the European Tour as he lost 6–4 to Andrew Gilding, who won the match with a 140 checkout.^[14] The 2023 world champion Michael Smith defeated James Hurrell 6–2, while two-time world champion Peter Wright was beaten 6–3 by Kim Huybrechts, who competed in his 200th European Tour match.^[15][16] William O'Connor landed a 170 checkout to complete a 6–2 victory over Sebastian Białecki, while Kevin Doets hit a 170 finish of his own during his whitewash win against Anton Östlund. Ricardo Pietreczko and Brendan Dolan both progressed to the next round by winning deciding legs, with the latter surviving missed match darts from Cor Dekker.^[14][16]

Second round

The second round (best of 11 legs) was played on 5 April.^[17] Defending champion and second seed Michael van Gerwen, a four-time German Darts Grand Prix winner, was eliminated in his opening match, going 4–0 behind before losing 6–1 to Niko Springer. Registering a three-dart average over 98, Springer commented: "I know I have to play on the same level tomorrow as I did today or maybe a bit better, but I will be ready."^[17] The top seed and 2025 runner-up Gian van Veen was also beaten 6–2 by William O'Connor, who won the match with a 108 checkout. Competing in his 100th European Tour event, fourth seed James Wade took a 5–3 lead against Kevin Doets, but Doets hit his second 170 checkout of the tournament on his way to completing a 6–5 comeback victory.^[18] Kim Huybrechts was the first player of the tournament to average over 100, doing so in his 6–1 win over the fourteenth seed Luke Woodhouse.^[19] Huybrechts' Belgian compatriot, the thirteenth seed Mike De Decker, missed two match darts as he lost 6–5 to Dirk van Duijvenbode.^[17]

Krzysztof Ratajski, Michael Smith, and Andrew Gilding all won in deciding legs, eliminating the seventh seed Ryan Searle, the fifteenth seed Dave Chisnall, and the sixteenth seed Daryl Gurney, respectively. Karel Sedláček defeated the eleventh seed Damon Heta, and Niels Zonneveld beat the twelfth seed Jermaine Wattimena 6–1. In all, 10 of the tournament's 16 seeded players were eliminated in the second round.^[17] Marcel Hausotter was unable to claim another upset victory, losing 6–5 to Jonny Clayton. Nathan Aspinall and Danny Noppert won by the same scoreline to eliminate Ricardo Pietreczko and Ritchie Edhouse, contributing to half of the second round's matches going to a deciding leg; Pietreczko missed a match dart at the bullseye to defeat Aspinall.^[18][19] Ryan Joyce averaged 103.24 but was beaten 6–4 by Josh Rock. Ross Smith defeated Patrik Kovács 6–2, while Martin Schindler earned a 6–4 win over Brendan Dolan.^[17]

Final day

The third round, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final were played on 6 April. The third round and quarter-finals were contested over the best of 11 legs, the semi-finals over the best of 13 legs, and the final over the best of 15 legs.^[20] The final day saw Nathan Aspinall and Danny Noppert reach the final. Aspinall won six straight legs to defeat Martin Schindler 6–2 in the third round, followed by a 6–4 victory over Andrew Gilding. In the semi-finals, he averaged 106.40 as he beat Kevin Doets 7–2, ending a streak of six losses against the Dutchman.^[21] Doets had previously equalled the European Tour record for the most maximums in a single match, scoring ten during his third-round victory over Dirk van Duijvenbode.^[22] Meanwhile, Noppert reached the final by defeating Karel Sedláček, Jonny Clayton, and Krzysztof Ratajski, only conceding five legs throughout the three matches.^[20] Aspinall looked to add to his three titles on the 2025 European Tour, while Noppert aimed to win his first European Tour title in his fourth final.^[21][23]

Noppert won the opening leg of the match, but fell 4–1 behind after a 108 checkout from Aspinall.^[23] Noppert then claimed the next four legs to lead 5–4, capitalising on missed doubles from his opponent.^[21] At 5–5, Noppert missed a dart at the bullseye for a 170 checkout, allowing Aspinall to take out 84 to retake the lead.^[24] After taking the next leg, Aspinall converted a 128 checkout to win the final 8–5, ending the match with a three-dart average of 100.35 and seven maximums.^[21]

Aspinall won his fourth European Tour title with all four coming in Germany, equalling the tally of Phil Taylor.^[20][25] In his post-match interview, Aspinall said he was "absolutely buzzing" with the victory, adding: "I did an interview on Saturday saying I was trying to find that love for the game again, but this crowd in Munich gave me the love for darts again."^[21] Noppert called his opponent the "deserved winner". "Of course I wanted to lift the title. There is another level I can go to, and I am pushing myself hard every time."^[20]