Can Van Gerwen end his barren spell at Dutch Darts Championship?

Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith and Jonny Clayton are in action at the Elten Safety Shoes Dutch Darts Championship; you can watch the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton live on Sky Sports from November 14-22

Michael van Gerwen will look to end his barren run with victory at the Elten Safety Shoes Dutch Darts Championship, with the draw and schedule now confirmed.

The three-time world champion endured a disappointing first-round exit at the World Grand Prix against Ryan Joyce before suffering another early setback with a second-round defeat to Mensur Suljovic at last weekend's Swiss Darts Trophy.

With the final European Tour event of 2026 taking place at MECC Maastricht from October 16-18, the race for European Championship qualification reaches its climax on Dutch soil, with 'The Green Machine' determined to end his title drought in front of his home crowd.

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Van Gerwen's last big tournament success came at the Nordic Darts Masters in June, where he defeated Luke Humphries in the final.

His last major TV title before that came on home soil at the 2025 World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam.

Van Gerwen will open his campaign against William O'Connor or Richard Veenstra on Saturday.

The stakes are also high in the race to qualify for the £750,000 European Championship, which takes place in Dortmund later this month. The top 32 players in the European Tour rankings following this weekend's tournament will secure their place in the prestigious event.

Friday's opening round in Maastricht features 16 matches, including an all-Dutch clash as Niels Zonneveld takes on Belgian No 1 Mike De Decker.

Michael Smith, meanwhile, has been pitted against Stephen Burton in a crucial contest, as the 2023 world champion aims to secure his spot in Dortmund.

Jonny Clayton will open his defence against Damon Heta or Maikel Verberk.

Schedule of Play - SUBJECT TO CHANGE Friday October 16 Round One Afternoon Session (12pm) Karel Sedlacek v Callan Rydz Cameron Menzies v Nick Kenny Jeffrey de Graaf v Mickey Mansell Dave Chisnall v Jonas Masalin Andrew Gilding v Max Hopp Ryan Joyce v Owen Bates Ricardo Pietreczko v Heine Uuldriks Dirk van Duijvenbode v James Hurrell

Evening Session (6pm) Sebastian Bialecki v Daryl Gurney William O'Connor v Richard Veenstra Niko Springer v Scott Williams Niels Zonneveld v Mike De Decker Kim Huybrechts v Jimmy van Schie Cristo Reyes v Krzysztof Kciuk Damon Heta v Maikel Verberk Michael Smith v Stephen Burton

Saturday October 17 Round Two Afternoon Session (12pm) Martin Schindler v Sedlacek/Rydz Wessel Nijman v De Graaf/Mansell Luke Woodhouse v Gilding/Hopp Ross Smith v Joyce/Bates Danny Noppert v Chisnall/Masalin Ryan Searle v Van Duijvenbode/Hurrell Rob Cross v Pietreczko/Uuldriks Krzysztof Ratajski v Zonneveld/De Decker

Evening Session (6pm) Gerwyn Price v Springer/Williams Jermaine Wattimena v Huybrechts/Van Schie Stephen Bunting v Menzies/Kenny Gian van Veen v Bialecki/Gurney Michael van Gerwen v O'Connor/Veenstra Jonny Clayton v Heta/Verberk Nathan Aspinall v M Smith/Burton Chris Dobey v Reyes/Kciuk

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