The 2026 Euro Tour express begins its journey down the home straight after stopping at several stations across the continent to hand out silverware – oh, and some nice little plaques.

To date, that metaphorical train has visited Poland and Slovakia for the first time, Germany – obviously – Belgium and Austria. Next up, Leverkusen, because it hasn’t pulled into Deutschland for a good few weeks, before continuing down the tracks into Hungary, Czechia, Belgium (Antwerp this time), Switzerland and the Netherlands. By which point, the locomotive’s hankering to be back in Germany will come to fruition in October for the daddy of them all – the European Championship.

That’s a record-breaking fifteen events on the PDC calendar this year. So far, we’ve had nine – and eight different winners. So, I think it’s a good time to have a look at some stats. Because let’s face it, everyone loves them, right?

First off, we’ll look at the ton-plus averages. Essentially, that is a decent guide to telling us in which tournament we have seen the best darts overall. And it’s no shock to see that Poland tops the list on the curtain-raiser with nineteen. Why no surprise? Because Littler was there, won the thing and hit four himself. Since then, he’s only boarded the train once – and needless to say, it wasn’t to get off in Germany.

However, if we want to see who has hit the most ton-plus averages this year, that won’t make anyone fall off their chair in bewilderment either. It’s Wessel Nijman with ten, the only player to reach double figures. Ironically, the same can almost be said for his PDC title count in 2026, needing just two for that tally there. Somewhere lurking in the background is Lenny Henry, thinking that if he can tap into Wes’ bulging bank account and generosity, we wouldn’t need to endure another Comic Relief. Now that would be a relief in itself.

Nine darters, I hear you say? Well, we’ve had two. One came in the final of the Poland Darts Open, courtesy of Gian van Veen. The other was produced by Cristo Reyes against Damon Heta in Austria. That event was sponsored by Elten Safety Shoes – not to be mistaken for the legendary Watford-born musician Elton John, who, when picking footwear, doesn’t seem to have safety in mind.

Now onto those home nation qualifiers who, to the casual darts fan, often appear like mechanics and plumbers with surnames containing five syllables or more. Generally speaking, they’ve been out earlier than a really hungry bird worm hunting. Now and again they win the odd match, but only Andy Baetens has reached the quarter-finals. And let’s face it, I’d hardly lump the former Lakeside champion and Tour Card holder in as a ‘home nation qualifier’. Just a Belgian bloke who was fully expected to be one of four to make the cut.

With a lot of the big guns opting not to travel for fear of their suitcase ending up on the moon and having to put up with longer airport queues than Alton Towers, you can hardly blame them. They can afford to wave away the chance to win £30,000 and book another flight home with a trophy in their bag. Many have exhibitions that weekend anyway, while others choose to head to sunnier climates or simply stand in a DJ booth trying not to get recognised.

Triple Z, Niels Zonneveld, enjoyed a nice back-to-back pair of semi-finals earlier in the season, which is not a euphemism. Things have gone slightly downhill since then, but he’ll be hoping to get one back soon. Not helping, am I?

Given that Jermaine Wattimena had the best season of his career last year, he hasn’t really capitalised on his almost ever-present seeding position in 2026. The Dutchman’s quarter-final run in Bratislava recently was his best effort of the campaign.

I can’t not mention Tom Sykes. The Castleford Tiger and a man who, in Slovakia recently, laughed in the face of debutant non-expectancy and pissed all over the bookies’ odds by reaching the last four. Only a resurgent Rob Cross prevented him from battling Wessel Nijman for a winner’s plaque which looked like it was made for a school project.

Others have done exceptionally well. I’m avoiding mentioning the eight champions, as they’ve had enough plaudits already, but kudos to Kevin Doets, who has found himself in the last session of an event on three occasions. And Hawkeye is still yet to blink. Although, if he began doing that regularly, it would make the nickname redundant. Why do I know that? Because it was me who came up with it. Still no complimentary set of signed darts if you’re reading this, Target!

So, as mentioned, it’s Leverkusen next for some more outlandishly priced German delicacies, which mainly consist of various forms of sausage-based savoury items. Then comes a little break before the tour returns, with Hungary’s capital, Budapest, playing host at the end of August.

Goulash all round, I suspect, and let’s see how loud this bunch can whistle.