Krzysztof Ratajski claimed his first title in 2026 and career-third European Tour title at the European Darts Open, defeating Jermaine Wattimena 8-6 in a nail-biting final in Leverkusen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ratajski – who last tasted European Tour glory at the German Darts Open in 2023 – returned to the winner\u2019s circle at the Ostermann-Arena on Sunday after a dramatic final against Wattimena. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 49-year-old rushed into a 4-1 lead, before a splendid mid-match spell from Wattimena saw the Dutchman claim five consecutive legs to lead 6-4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Ratajski retaliated, capitalising on missed darts at double from his opponent to level the match at 6-6 before finishing a clutch 68 outshot to go one away from the title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Polish number one then landed a fatal blow in the 14th and final leg, pinning double ten to secure the \u00a335,000 prize and claim his first trophy of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m really happy. I don\u2019t know what to say,\u201d professed Ratajski, who moves up to 20th in the world rankings following his victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a close game. Jermaine played very well, and I\u2019m really happy that I survived it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t expect it. I would have been happy with the last eight or last four, so to win the title is more than I expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will do my best in Blackpool. I hope I will play well and hopefully I can win that first match. We will see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ratajski kicked off his campaign with a 6-3 triumph over Max Hopp, before downing Gian van Veen – his upcoming opponent at the World Matchplay later this month – by the same scoreline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The former World Matchplay semi-finalist then eliminated reigning champion Nathan Aspinall with a steady 6-4 win, followed by victory over his World Cup teammate Sebastian Bialecki in the semi-finals thanks to a ton-plus average to reach a third European Tour final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ratajski\u2019s win over Wattimena maintained his 100% winning record in finals on the circuit, while his success means the Pole has won at least one title in seven of the last nine years in the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite falling short of a maiden European Tour title, Wattimena still broke new ground in Leverkusen by reaching his first semi-final and final on the circuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The former European Championship runner-up kicked off his campaign with a 6-0 thrashing of Kim Huybrechts, before flattening Ryan Joyce 6-1 with similar ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Dutchman then pipped Baltic Sea Darts Open winner Luke Woodhouse in a last-leg decider to reach the last four for the first time, before blasting past Damon Heta 7-3 to go one game away from a career-first big stage title, despite eventually losing out to Ratajski.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m very happy with that,\u201d admitted Wattimena, after pocketing the \u00a315,000 runner-up prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThank you very much to the crowd – it was a magic day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI missed some chances, but Krzysztof was 4-1 up and he missed some chances as well, so I think it\u2019s a fair result. Krzysztof was the better player so well done to Krzysztof.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Semi-finalist Bialecki impressed across the weekend, also reaching his career-best stage at a European Tour by making the final four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Polish number two took the scalps of William O\u2019Connor, Danny Noppert, Kevin Doets and James Wade in a notable run to the semi-finals, only to be halted by his compatriot Ratajski.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heta dispatched five-time European Darts Open winner Michael van Gerwen en route to reaching the semi-finals, also accounting for Rob Owen and Dirk van Duijvenbode in a stellar weekend for the Australian number one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Woodhouse, Van Duijvenbode and defending champion Aspinall were joined by Wade in the quarter-finals, who put an end to Host Nation qualifier Jan Schmidt\u2019s heroic run in the last 16 to the dismay of the Leverkusen crowd.\u00a0 Quarter-Finals<\/strong> Semi-Finals<\/strong> Final<\/strong> Krzysztof Ratajski claimed his first title in 2026 and career-third European Tour title at the European Darts Open,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-14727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-darts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
RESULTS
Round Three
<\/strong>Jermaine Wattimena 6-1 Ryan Joyce
Luke Woodhouse 6-5 Jonny Clayton
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Wessel Nijman
Damon Heta 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Sebastian Bialecki 6-4 Kevin Doets
James Wade 6-2 Jan Schmidt
Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Ross Smith
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Gian van Veen<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jermaine Wattimena 6-5 Luke Woodhouse
Damon Heta 6-2 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Sebastian Bialecki 6-2 James Wade
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Nathan Aspinall<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jermaine Wattimena 7-3 Damon Heta
Krzysztof Ratajski 7-5 Sebastian Bialecki<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Krzysztof Ratajski 8-6 Jermaine Wattimena<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"