Photo: PDC Nordic & Baltic/Zanis Buklovskis
Saturday saw a handfull of seeded players leaving the competition with losses after multiple close encounters.
Saturday marked the arrival of the seeded players at the 2026 PDC Nordic & Baltic Championship in Odense, as the tournament stepped up a gear with the introduction of its top eight players.
The afternoon session saw all eight seeds take to the stage for their opening matches, facing the players who had suffered defeat on Friday, with the evening session then setting up clashes against the eight players who had won their opening matches.
Number one seed Daniel Larsson got the afternoon underway against Alexander Thorvaldsson. The young Icelander took the lead twice, going 1-0 and 2-1 up, before Larsson responded with back-to-back legs to move ahead in the match. Thorvaldsson then fought back to level at 4-4, but Larsson took control once again, winning the final two legs and sealing a 6-4 victory with a clinical two-dart 85-checkout.
Petri Rasmus and Andreas U. Nielsen then produced another closely fought encounter, with neither player able to establish a lead of more than one leg until the score reached 4-4. Rasmus edged ahead by winning the ninth leg before delivering the decisive blow with a magnificent 141-checkout against the throw to secure a 6-4 win.
The third match of the afternoon brought another success for the seeded players, as Viktor Tingström came out on top against Johan Engström with a 6-3 victory and an average of 82.16. The young Swede put the finishing touch on his performance with an impressive 12-darter in the deciding leg.
Second seed Cor Dekker continued the winning trend among the seeded players, comfortably beating Andreas Toft Jørgensen 6-2 in his opening match. The Dane did manage to produce one of the highlights of the match with a superb 146-checkout, but it was not enough to trouble Dekker, who averaged an impressive 96.12.
Despite producing a fantastic 139-checkout to make he score 3-1, Andreas Hyllgaardhus suffered the same fate as Toft Jørgensen in the afternoon’s fifth match. Tour Card holder and fifth seed Oskar Lukasiak proved too strong for the Dane, cruising to a 6-1 victory with an average of 91.05.
Next up were Jonas Graversen and Jani Laurila, with Graversen adding another win to the seeded players’ impressive afternoon. The Dane put in a strong performance against the Finn, producing two 14-darters along the way to secure a convincing 6-1 victory.
In the penultimate match of the afternoon, Dmitriy Zhukov was unable to overcome seeded player Darius Labanauskas. Although the Lithuanian was not quite at his usual best, he still had enough to get past Zhukov, eventually claiming a 6-2 victory.
The final match of the afternoon looked set to provide the biggest upset of the session, as Rickard Johansson raced into a 2-0 lead against third seed Jani Haavisto. However, the Finn fought his way back into the contest and turned things around, winning six consecutive legs to claim a 6-2 victory.
The afternoon’s results meant that all eight groups would be decided on head-to-head records in the evening session, with all sixteen players heading into their second match of the tournament having secured one win each.
The evening got underway with an all-Finnish clash between eighth seed Rasmus Petri and defending champion Teemu Harju. Petri put the pressure on his fellow Finn from the very beginning, although Harju managed to keep pace until 2-2, when Petri pulled away with three consecutive legs. Harju managed to grab another leg, but Petri ultimately secured a 6-3 victory to get his evening off to a winning start.
In the second match of the evening, Daniel Larsson found himself in serious trouble against Anton Östlund, who raced into a 3-0 lead before the number one seed managed to get on the scoreboard. Larsson then fought his way back into the match, bringing the score to 4-4, but Östlund had other plans. The Swede won the next two legs, sealing a 6-4 victory with a clinical two-dart 70-checkout and sending the tournament’s top seed out of the competition.
Viktor Tingström and Valters Melderis then met in what turned out to be a thrilling encounter. The two players held their throws until 3-3, before the Latvian finally managed to break and take a 4-3 lead. Tingström responded immediately with a break of his own and then held his throw to move within a leg of victory. Melderis, however, kept his cool and levelled the match at 5-5, setting up a deciding 11th leg. Tingström had three match darts but failed to convert any of them, allowing Melderis to step in and check out 73 for a dramatic victory.
In the fourth match of the evening, Cor Dekker took to the stage to face Jonas Masalin in what would turn out to be a nerve-wracking affair, particularly towards the end. With the score locked at 5-5, both players squandered multiple match darts over several visits, before Masalin finally found the target on double 4 with his 10th match dart, securing yet another upset of the evening.
Jani Haavisto then put an end to the growing list of seeded players heading out of the tournament, as he took to the oche and comfortably defeated Jonas Sørensen 6-1. The Finn produced an impressive performance on stage, firing in no less than four 15-darters and a 14-darter along the way.
In the next match, Mio Varila barely had time to blink before Darius Labanauskas had raced into a 2-0 lead, opening with a 14-darter before following it up with a 12-darter finished on 120. Although the Lithuanian dropped his pace somewhat afterwards, Varila was still unable to keep up with “Lucky D”, who cruised to a 6-1 victory with an average of 94.77.
The penultimate match of the evening was an all-Swedish affair, as Oskar Lukasiak faced Andreas Harrysson. Both players appeared somewhat nervous during the opening stages, with the first three legs being won in 20, 21 and 20 darts respectively. Lukasiak then found another gear, pulling away to establish a 4-1 lead before Harrysson finally managed to get another leg on the board. Both players held their throws in the remaining legs, allowing Lukasiak to secure a 6-3 victory.
The final match of the evening was another all-national affair, as the two Danes Jonas Graversen and Benjamin Drue Reus faced each other at the oche. Graversen came flying out of the starting blocks, opening with a 12-darter featuring a magnificent 136-checkout before breaking throw to move 2-0 ahead. Reus then fought his way back into the contest, bringing the score level at 2-2, before the two continued to trade legs to 3-3. Graversen then found another gear and pulled two legs clear once again. He eventually wrapped up a 6-4 victory with a 32-checkout, greeted by a big cheer from the young Dane.
Tomorrow will see the 2026 PDC Nordic & Baltic Championship being concluded with quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final. Remember to find our Youtube-channel to watch all of the action.
Saturday November 7
Odense Congress Center
Afternoon Session
Daniel Larsson 6-4 Alexander Thorvaldsson (Group A)
Petri Rasmus 6-4 Andreas U. Nielsen (Group H)
Viktor Tingström 6-3 Johan Engström (Group G)
Cor Dekker 6-2 Andreas Toft Jørgensen (Group B)
Oskar Lukasiak 6-1 Andreas Hyllgaardhus (Group E)
Jonas Graversen 6-2 Jani Laurila (Group D)
Darius Labanauskas 6-2 Dmitriy Zhukov (Group F)
Jani Haavisto 6-2 Rickard Johansson (Group C)
Evening Session
8x Group Stage Matches – best of 11 legs
Petri Rasmus 6-3 Teemu Harju (Group H)
Daniel Larsson 4-6 Anton Östlund(Group A)
Viktor Tingström 5-6 Valters Melderis (Group G)
Cor Dekker 5-6 Jonas Masalin (Group B)
Jani Haavisto 6-1 Jonas Sørensen (Group C)
Darius Labanauskas 6-1 Mio Varila (Group F)
Oskar Lukasiak 6-3 Andreas Harrysson (Group E)
Jonas Graversen 6-4 Benjamin Drue Reus (Group D)
Sunday November 8 (1200 local time)
Quarter-finals, Semi-finals & Final
Quarter-finals – best of 13 legs
Anton Östlund v Petri Rasmus
Jonas Graversen v Oskar Lukasiak
Jani Haavisto v Darius Labanauskas
Jonas Masalin v Valters Melderis
Semi-finals – best of 15 legs
Winner QF1 v Winner QF2
Winner QF 3 v Winner QF4
Final – best of 15 legs
Winner SF1 v Winner SF2
