The European Tour returns this weekend with ET12, the Czech Darts Open in Prague, from September 4-6, and there is very little missing from this field.
Luke Littler is back. Luke Humphries returns to one of his favourite venues. Gerwyn Price, Michael van Gerwen, Gian van Veen, Josh Rock, Stephen Bunting, Gary Anderson and plenty more are here, while Beau Greaves gets another opportunity on the European Tour.
And perhaps the biggest question is simply: who makes the headlines in a field this strong?
Littler's appearance is particularly significant. This is his first European Tour event since March, having been absent from the circuit for several months. Humphries, meanwhile, is chasing a remarkable third successive Czech Open title, having beaten Josh Rock in last year's final and Kim Huybrechts in 2024.
Littler returns – and the numbers remain frightening
Despite his European Tour absence, there is little suggestion that Luke Littler needs time to rediscover his best darts.
He has won nine of his last ten recorded matches in the Q4QS database, while his recent World Matchplay victory came with a remarkable 111.04 tournament average. That run included 113.68 against Nathan Aspinall, 109.57 against Josh Rock, 110.88 against Dirk van Duijvenbode and 111.53 in the final against Gerwyn Price.
Since then, Littler has reached the quarter-finals and semi-finals of Players Championships 27 and 28 respectively.
The European Tour hasn't seen much of him lately. It might be about to be reminded what it has been missing.
Can anyone knock Humphries off his Prague throne?
If Littler is the returning headline act, Luke Humphries is the man with ownership of this tournament.
Humphries has won in Prague in 2022, 2024 and 2025, and victory this weekend would complete a Czech Open hat-trick of consecutive titles.
His current form hardly discourages the idea. Humphries is 8-2 across his last ten in the Q4QS database and won Players Championship 28 last time out, going 7-0. He has also won Players Championship 17 this season with a huge 104.74 event average.
There's an intriguing potential Saturday opener too. Humphries will face the winner of Daryl Gurney v Beau Greaves.
Price has another big title in him
Gerwyn Price has already shown this year that he remains a major European Tour threat.
He won the European Darts Grand Prix with a 100.26 tournament average, while his recent World Matchplay campaign ended only in the final against Littler. Price's database includes wins over Wessel Nijman, Martin Schindler and Chris Dobey during his recent run, and he remains inside the Q4QS top three.
In a tournament containing virtually every major name, Price still looks one of the players most capable of simply taking the event away from everybody else when his scoring catches fire.
Don't overlook Wessel Nijman
Perhaps Wessel Nijman doesn't yet carry quite the same headline status as Littler, Humphries, Price or Van Gerwen.
His 2026 results suggest that might need to change.
Nijman has already won the Slovak Darts Open this season, averaging 99.45 across the tournament, and followed that with a semi-final at Players Championship 27. He is 7-3 across his latest ten recorded matches and has recent victories over Rob Cross, Ross Smith, Mike De Decker and Stephen Bunting.
His wider 2026 record is exceptional too: he has collected multiple Players Championship titles as well as European Tour success.
If we're looking beyond the most obvious names for Sunday's headlines, Nijman has to be very high on the list.
Van Gerwen remains Van Gerwen
There have been times over the past few seasons when Michael van Gerwen hasn't looked quite as untouchable as he once did.
Writing him off remains a dangerous game.
Van Gerwen has a 7-3 recent record in the Q4QS data and already has title-winning form this season. His recent results also include a victory over Humphries in a final, while he has recorded a 101.55 win over Jonny Clayton.
The most striking number on the Six to Follow graphic is his 122.34 best recorded match average. When MVG finds that sort of level, rankings, form and draw positions become rather less important.
Beau Greaves could create the weekend's biggest story
This is the selection that makes the Six to Follow particularly interesting.
Beau Greaves isn't one of the 16 seeds. She has to start on Friday against Daryl Gurney and, if she wins, her reward is defending champion Luke Humphries.
Not exactly the gentle route through Prague.
But Greaves is becoming increasingly difficult to judge by conventional expectations. Her Q4QS record shows 10 wins from her last ten recorded matches, back-to-back Women's Series titles and Players Championship averages of 94.75 and 95.45 in her latest two appearances.
She also averaged over 104 on her European Tour debut last weekend despite losing to Rob Cross.
Getting through Gurney and then Humphries would be an enormous ask. But if she does, it could become one of the stories of the European Tour season.
Six Players to Watch
Luke Littler – Back on the European Tour for the first time since March and still producing extraordinary numbers. Nine wins from ten and the obvious title threat.
Luke Humphries – The king of Prague. Chasing a third successive Czech Open title and arriving immediately after another Players Championship victory.
Gerwyn Price – A European Tour winner already this season and a World Matchplay finalist. More than capable of another big weekend.
Wessel Nijman – One of 2026's outstanding ProTour performers. Already a European Tour champion this year and increasingly difficult to regard as an outsider.
Michael van Gerwen – Still capable of producing a level very few players can live with. His Q4QS data contains the highest peak match average of these six.
Beau Greaves – The fascinating wildcard. A brutal route awaits, but her recent scoring suggests she is capable of making headlines rather than merely making up the field.
And that's only six…
That's the problem with trying to pick six from this tournament.
Gian van Veen has reached the semi-finals of the World Matchplay and two recent Players Championships and is 8-2 in his last ten.
Rob Cross is also 8-2 and has already won Players Championship 22. Luke Woodhouse has a final, semi-final and quarter-final among his recent Players Championship results. Cameron Menzies has won Players Championship 23.
Then there is Josh Rock, Gary Anderson, Stephen Bunting, Nathan Aspinall, Chris Dobey, Ross Smith, Damon Heta, Dirk van Duijvenbode and a host of others.
That's what makes Prague so interesting.
Littler's return provides the headline before a dart has been thrown. By Sunday night, there's every chance somebody else will have stolen it.
