Stephen Bunting’s Nordic Darts Masters title defence is over before finals night, and that alone gives Copenhagen’s Saturday session a very different feel.
The reigning champion was beaten 6-5 by Sweden’s Viktor Tingstrom on Friday night at the Forum Copenhagen, where the 2026 Mr Vegas Nordic Darts Masters opened with the familiar World Series format of PDC stars taking on Nordic and Baltic representatives. It was not just an upset on paper. According to Sky Sports, Tingstrom survived seven match darts before becoming only the third Nordic and Baltic representative to win a match at the event since its launch in 2021.
Bunting Exit Opens Up The Top Half
For Bunting, it is a sharp turn after last year’s Copenhagen success. For Tingstrom, it is the sort of win that changes the tone of a career, even if there is still a very difficult route ahead. “I’ve had some good memories in darts, but I don’t think anything can beat this at the moment,” Tingstrom told Sky Sports after the biggest result of his night.
He added: “I just came here trying to enjoy it. I don’t put too much pressure on myself. I don’t have any pressure on me.”
That freedom will be tested quickly. Tingstrom now faces Michael van Gerwen in Saturday’s quarter-finals after the Dutchman beat Oskar Lukasiak 6-2. Van Gerwen against a home-region breakthrough story is exactly the kind of World Series collision these events are built to create: a global name, a local angle, and very little time for either player to settle.
Littler And Wade Set For Proper Finals-Night Needle
Luke Littler also moved through comfortably, with Sky reporting that the world champion produced a 129 checkout in victory over Norway’s Cor Dekker. The exact score was listed differently across live result sources on Friday night, but the important part for Saturday is clear enough: Littler is still in the hunt for a maiden Nordic Darts Masters title.
His reward is a quarter-final with James Wade, who marked his first World Series appearance since 2022 with a 6-1 win over Madars Razma. That is a lovely stylistic contrast for a short-format event. Littler brings the headline power and explosive scoring; Wade brings timing, finishing and the kind of rhythm that can make even the biggest names uncomfortable.
For more on the running order and results, LiveDarts has the updated Nordic Darts Masters schedule, while the official PDC Nordic Darts Masters page carries the tournament hub.
Humphries Sends A Warning
If there was a performance of the opening night, Luke Humphries has the strongest claim. He beat Jeffrey de Graaf 6-3, averaging 109.92 and taking out six of his nine darts at double. That is a serious number against an opponent arriving with confidence, and it puts Humphries straight into a quarter-final with European champion Gian van Veen, who beat Daniel Larsson 6-3.
“I felt good there. The last four to five weeks I’ve felt a lot more comfortable in my throw and I feel like I can play this level a lot more often,” Humphries said, via Sky Sports.
Elsewhere, Gerwyn Price survived a match dart in a 6-5 win over Darius Labanauskas, while Jonny Clayton whitewashed Andreas Harrysson 6-0 to set up an all-Welsh quarter-final. Saturday’s session begins at 18:00 BST, with quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final all played in one night.
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