Michael van Gerwen’s nightmare year went from bad to worse as he was dumped out of the Swiss Darts Trophy in his opening match by Mensur Suljovic 6-4 on Saturday night.

Suljovic led 5-2 before Van Gerwen threatened a comeback but three missed darts to force a decider allowed Suljovic to take advantage.

It was Suljovic’s fourth straight win over Van Gerwen and the fifth time in six tournaments that the Dutchman has exited after one match.

Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen and Jonny Clayton all advanced to Finals Day as ten seeds crashed out on a remarkable day of action in Basel.

Newly crowned World Grand Prix champion Humphries was among the headline acts on Day Two at the St. Jakobshalle, where he prevailed against Kevin Doets.

Despite racing 3-0 ahead with 122 and 121 checkouts, Humphries was forced to survive a furious fightback from Doets, defying the Dutchman’s 105.64 average to triumph in a breathless decider.

“I was really pleased with that performance,” reflected Humphries, who averaged almost 103 and pinned 67% of his attempts at double.

“I felt like I was the better player for most of the game, but Kevin was really strong at the end there, so I had to really work my socks off.”

European Champion Van Veen also impressed on Swiss soil, producing a hat-trick of ton-plus checkouts to whitewash a shell-shocked Niko Springer in just under ten minutes.

Clayton, meanwhile, stole the show with an irrepressible display against Maik Kuivenhoven, averaging 108.81 and landing two bullseye finishes to kick off his title bid in style.

The Welshman will take on Rob Cross for a place in the quarter-finals, after the former world champion halted Luke Woodhouse’s mid-match fightback to close out a battling 6-4 victory.

There will be a new champion crowned at the St Jakobshalle on Sunday evening, as former champions Stephen Bunting and Martin Schindler crashed out on a day of upsets in Basel.

Swedish star Jeffrey de Graaf put in a clinical display of doubling to account for reigning champion Bunting, while Schindler was swept aside by Tom Bissell, who will feature at Finals Day for the first time in his European Tour career.

Dirk van Duijvenbode recorded a fifth straight win against James Wade to end the left-hander’s bid for back-to-back European Tour titles, and a resurgent Michael Smith now awaits the Dutchman in the last 16.

The 2023 world champion delivered one of his best performances of the year to seal a 6-4 against Jermaine Wattimena, converting consecutive 116, 124 and 144 checkouts in the process.

Smith averaged just shy of 103 to cap off a quality display, which also preserves his hopes of qualifying for the Machineseeker European Championship later this month.

Finals Day at the Swiss Darts Trophy will begin at the earlier time of 11am, before the tournament concludes with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in a blockbuster evening session, which gets underway from 5pm.

2026 Swiss Darts Trophy
Saturday October 10
Round Two
Afternoon Session
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-2 Stefan Bellmont
Karel Sedlacek 6-4 Wessel Nijman
Rob Cross 6-4 Luke Woodhouse
Tom Bissell 6-4 Martin Schindler
Cristo Reyes 6-4 Ryan Searle
Ross Smith 6-4 William O’Connor
Bradley Brooks 6-4 Chris Dobey
Michael Smith 6-4 Jermaine Wattimena

Evening Session
Josh Rock 6-5 Dave Chisnall
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-4 Stephen Bunting
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 James Wade
Jonny Clayton 6-1 Maik Kuivenhoven
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Luke Humphries 6-5 Kevin Doets
Gian van Veen 6-0 Niko Springer
Damon Heta 6-3 Danny Noppert

Sunday October 11
Afternoon Session (11am)
Last 16
Josh Rock vs Karel Sedlacek
Jonny Clayton vs Rob Cross
Jeffrey De Graaf vs Bradley Brooks
Gian van Veen vs Tom Bissell
Mensur Suljovic vs Ross Smith
Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Michael Smith
Damon Heta vs Cristo Reyes
Luke Humphries vs Krzysztof Ratajski

Evening Session (5pm)
Quarter-Finals
Rock/Sedlacek vs Clayton/Cross
De Graaf/Brooks vs Van Veen/Bissell
Suljovic/R Smith vs Van Duijvenbode/M Smith
Heta/Reyes vs Humphries/Ratajski

Sky Sports remains the home of darts with the Grand Slam of Darts (November 14-22) and World Darts Championship (December 11-January 3) all live. Stream darts and more through NOW with no contract.

“We couldn’t find a way to get ourselves into the game. With the ball, without the ball, we were off it.” A fair assessment from Michael Carrick, if not a wholly explanatory one.

Stuck in the mire of Manchester United’s worst start to a league season for 40 years, the manager appeared lost for legitimate reasons. His margin for error is shrinking by the week.

Why were his side outplayed at home by the Premier League’s bottom club? Why can’t they hold onto leads? Why do they seem incapable of playing against 10 men?

All of these are fair questions to put to the man himself and many were asked of Carrick in the wake of Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Spurs. None were answered with enough detail to satisfy, though, only really serving to hold a mirror up to what was delivered on the pitch: inadequacy.

Clearly the manager can only accept so much of the blame. His players are yet to offer a single complete performance, only bit-part displays of individualism and self-direction. Where is the cohesiveness that shaped the backend of last year? What happened to the clarity that turned a collapsed season into a third-place finish?

Fans who turn up to Old Trafford every week are back to being unsure. They do not know what to expect from one game to the next, only how to voice their dissatisfaction at what transpires. Three separate choruses of boos could be heard from the terraces on Saturday.

“I think the fans will stay with the project,” reflected Gary Neville from Old Trafford. “I don’t think the boos are against Michael Carrick for one minute. But what I would say is, they’re turning quite quickly.”

When United needed a calm voice to steer the ship at the beginning of this year, they turned to a man whose entire playing career was built on it. That version of Manchester United feels far removed from the side that have begun this season, though.

In midfield is where the problems are most evident. And yet, that is the department that received the biggest injection of cash this summer, a complete overhaul in terms of personnel and profiles. The Kobbie Mainoo-Youri Tielemans axis is not working. Andrey Santos is barely getting a look in.

Hopes that Carlos Baleba can hit the ground running after an injury-hit start were audible; his introduction after an hour lifted the whole stadium. Almost every touch was positive and he took care of the ball, completing 16 of 18 passes and creating as many chances as Bruno Fernandes managed all game (2).

Still, the space and freedom with which Spurs operated presents issues that cannot be solved by one midfielder. United were carved open time after time, gaps appearing in a myriad of ways. The visitors were able to win possession in the final third five times in the first half alone. Five of United’s work-shy starters did not go away for international duty over the break.

And it was not just the aggressiveness of Spurs’ press that was effective. They picked holes in United with the ball, too, using slick one-touch combinations to move through the thirds with pace and purpose. Savio attempted 10 dribbles. He only completed half but the recurrence was evidence of his belief that United could be got at. He was right.

Then there are concerns over the mentality of a side who repeatedly fail to beat 10 men. Yet again, United were outrun and outpaced – this time by a team who played with a man less for 21 minutes, including stoppage time.

“If we’re ahead in the game, we have to see it out,” says Carrick. That much is obvious. What is less clear is how some of these patterns of missteps are going to be addressed.

“Football is character,” concluded opposition boss Roberto De Zerbi. United must find some character from somewhere, or risk being eaten up by the competition. If the last few weeks have taught us anything, it’s that the Premier League is in no mood to be handing out sympathy.

Man Utd’s next five fixtures

Sunday 18th October 12:30pm


Kick off 2:00pm

Four of Man Utd’s next five games are away from home, including their next three.

Oct 13: Atletico Madrid vs Man Utd, Champions League

Oct 18: Leeds vs Man Utd, Premier League, live on Sky Sports

Oct 21: Como vs Man Utd, Champions League

Oct 25: Man Utd vs Bournemouth, Premier League, live on Sky Sports

Oct 31: Chelsea vs Man Utd, Premier League, live on Sky Sports