Bunting’s Basel defence carries European Championship stakes

Stephen Bunting begins his Swiss Darts Trophy title defence with his European Championship place still to secure.

The Englishman occupies the final qualifying position in PDC Europe’s standings after 13 completed European Tour events, with two tournaments remaining.

He opens in Basel against Jeffrey de Graaf or Sietse Lap.

Stephen Bunting holds final qualifying spot

The top 32 on the European Tour Order of Merit qualify for the European Championship in Dortmund from 22–25 October.

PDC Europe’s published standings after Antwerp put Bunting 32nd on £33,000, with Joe Cullen immediately behind on £29,500.

That is a £3,500 gap on completed-event earnings. These figures do not include projected prize money from the remaining tournaments.

Position	Player	Prize money
30	Cristo Reyes	£34,000
31	Dave Chisnall	£33,500
32	Stephen Bunting	£33,000
33	Joe Cullen	£29,500
34	Sebastian Bialecki	£26,000

When is the qualification deadline?

The Swiss Darts Trophy runs from 9–11 October, followed by the Dutch Darts Championship in Maastricht from 16–18 October.

Those are the final two European Tour events before Dortmund’s field is settled.

For Bunting, Basel offers a chance to strengthen his position while defending a title. For those below him, it is one of two remaining opportunities to close the gap.

Our Swiss Darts Trophy viewing guide has the UK times and streaming details.

Read more about the separate qualification races in our World Championship autumn guide.

Follow Nine Dart News on X and Facebook for every darts result.