Three of the world’s top players have pulled out of this weekend’s Belgian Darts Open in a triple blow to the field, with Gian van Veen sidelined by a hospital admission, Gerwyn Price stepping back due to mental fatigue, and Gary Anderson continuing his well-established habit of skipping European Tour events.
The withdrawals, confirmed on the eve of the tournament, have stripped the Oktoberhallen in Wieze of three of its highest-profile seeded players heading into what was billed as a stacked third European Tour event of the 2026 PDC calendar. Gerwyn Price, Gian van Veen and Gary Anderson have withdrawn from the event and have been replaced by Ricky Evans, Mickey Mansell and Ian White via the reserve list.
Van Veen: Hospitalised with Kidney Stones
The most serious — and most unexpected — of the three withdrawals is that of Gian van Veen. The 23-year-old, who lost to Luke Littler at Alexandra Palace in his maiden World Darts Championship final in January, remains in hospital following a diagnosis of kidney stones and will not feature.
The Dutch number one had already been forced out of Premier League Night Seven in Dublin on Thursday, where he had been due to face compatriot Michael van Gerwen in the quarter-final, with the latter now receiving a bye through to the semi-finals. Van Gerwen also receives two league points and a +1 leg difference, while van Veen surrenders a -6 leg difference and gets no points.
Van Veen had been in fine form in his debut Premier League campaign before his hospital admission. He had made a solid start, sitting in fourth place after making three finals from six nights played. The timing is particularly cruel for a young player who had been building real momentum.
Van Veen described the episode as sudden and entirely beyond his control: “Right up until the very last moment, my biggest goal was to step onto that stage tonight, but sometimes things are just out of your control,” he said in a statement. He issued a heartfelt apology to supporters in the Irish capital: “To the fans in Dublin and Ireland: I am truly sorry.”
With the draw for the Belgian Darts Open having already been confirmed by the PDC on Thursday, van Veen won’t play and won’t travel to Wieze this weekend for the European Tour. All at the PDC wish him a speedy recovery.
Price: Mental Fatigue Forces a Break
Gerwyn Price’s absence from Wieze is one that has been signposted. The Welshman had already hinted in the wake of last weekend’s European Darts Trophy final that the relentless pace of the 2026 schedule was beginning to take its mental toll. Price has indicated he may step away from the sport temporarily, citing the mental toll of professional darts’ relentless schedule, with his words revealing a player torn between his competitive drive and the psychological demands of maintaining peak performance across a packed fixture list.
Price hinted at taking a break due to mental fatigue. “The Iceman” appeared on Thursday night for the seventh night of the Premier League Darts in Dublin, but will take the weekend off.
It is not the first time Price has had to manage the mental demands of the sport. The former world champion has spoken openly in the past about the pressure of professional darts and has previously withdrawn from events for medical and personal reasons. What makes this occasion notable is that it comes on the back of a period of genuinely impressive form — Price won Night Two of the Premier League in Antwerp, reached three Premier League semi-finals, and pushed all the way to the European Darts Trophy final last Sunday in Göttingen, only to lose 8-3 to a rampant Wessel Nijman.
For a player who had recently declared “I think I’m playing some of the best stuff I’ve played. I’m just not winning tournaments, and that will come,” the decision to step back — even briefly — reflects the invisible weight of elite sport at its most unrelenting.
Anderson: A Familiar Story on the European Tour
Gary Anderson’s absence from Wieze will surprise no one who has followed his European Tour attendance record over the years. Anderson is known for regularly skipping Euro Tour events, and this weekend is no different. The two-time world champion had also been absent from the European Darts Trophy in Göttingen last weekend — one of several high-profile names to skip the Germany event alongside Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Jonny Clayton, Nathan Aspinall and James Wade.
Anderson has spoken at length in the past about the physical and personal demands of the Premier League roadshow on his body and family life. The Scotsman, who reached the semi-finals of the World Darts Championship earlier this year before losing to van Veen, remains a serious performer when he chooses to compete — but the European Tour has long been low on his priority list.
The Lucky Replacements
In line with PDC regulations, the PDC called up replacements for the Belgian Darts Open — the three highest-ranked players from the losers’ round at the Tour Card Holder Qualifier. After all the losing players were listed, Ricky Evans, Mickey Mansell and Ian White turned out to be the three lucky ones.
It is a significant opportunity for all three. Evans, the ever-entertaining “Rapid Ricky”, will relish the chance to compete in front of a lively Belgian crowd; Mansell is a familiar face on the PDC tour; and Ian White, a veteran of major finals, will see this as a chance to add to his European Tour record.
What Remains in Wieze
Despite the three high-profile withdrawals, the Belgian Darts Open retains a star-studded field. Luke Littler faces a potential Raymond van Barneveld clash — with the five-time world champion making his first European Tour appearance of 2026 — while World No 2 Luke Humphries faces either Dirk van Duijvenbode or Lukas Wenig, and Michael van Gerwen will play 2023 world champion Michael Smith or Mansell. Premier League leader Jonny Clayton will meet either Wessel Nijman, coming off his European Darts Trophy win in Göttingen last week, or Sebastian Bialecki.
The tournament is played at the Oktoberhallen in Wieze, Belgium from 20–22 March 2026. It features a field of 48 players and £230,000 in prize money, with £35,000 going to the winner. Luke Littler enters as the defending champion — and two-time defending champion, having won the event in both 2024 and 2025. Littler beat Mike De Decker 8-5 in last year’s final, and is chasing a third straight Belgian Darts Open title.
Whether Price and van Veen will have recovered sufficiently to return for Night Eight of the Premier League in Berlin next Thursday remains to be seen. For now, Wieze must make do without three of its biggest names — and the door has swung wide open for those still very much in the building.
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