With World Series fever still glowing beneath the New York skyline, the PDC roadshow now rolls into Gliwice for the third annual Poland Darts Masters, beginning Friday 4th July.
There’ll be no back-to-back World Series titles for Luke Humphries – not due to a lack of talent, far from it – but simply because he won’t be there. However, Polish fans will get to see the reigning World Champion and last year’s winner, Luke Littler, return in search of his own unique double.
Also in attendance: a veritable who’s who of the PDC’s current elite. The usual suspects you’d expect to find collecting trophies – Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross, Jonny Clayton, Chris Dobey, Nathan Aspinall, and Stephen Bunting – are all in the mix.
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But standing in their way? Perhaps not household names, but dangerous talents in their own right – especially on home(ish) soil. Let’s focus on the eight challengers hoping to shake up the order in Gliwice:
Krzysztof Ratajski
Arguably the best-known among the Eastern European contingent, Poland’s finest has claimed seven Players Championship titles and a couple of Euro Tour wins. A man you’d rather avoid in round one. With the home crowd behind him, The Polish Eagle could soar again – and he’s more than capable of knocking any of the big names off their perch.
Radek Szagański
If you happen to see a bloke in Cork driving a bus who looks like a professional darts player – chances are it is Radek. When he’s not behind the wheel in Munster, he’s throwing seriously good darts. The charismatic co-star of Poland’s recent World Cup team, Szagański already has a Players Championship title to his name. You don’t win one of those by fluke – and he’s another name the top seeds will be hoping to dodge early on.
Sebastian Białecki
One of five Polish players in the tournament – and certainly the shortest. But what The Bolt lacks in height, he makes up for in talent. At just 21, he’s already won six Development Tour titles, including one this year. His breakout came with a quarter-final run at the 2022 UK Open, which turned plenty of heads. He’s widely tipped to be Poland’s next big star on the main tour – and with youth on his side, that prediction looks on track.
Tytus Kanik
Before he picked up darts, he was making waves on the green baize, not the oche – even claiming a bronze medal at the 2003 Polish Billiards Championships. And long before Ratajski became a household name, Kanik was the first Pole to earn a PDC Tour Card. A two-time national champion and four-time World Cup representative, he hasn’t yet made a major mark on the Pro Tour, but remains a steady and dangerous competitor – a bit like Burnley in football, yo-yoing between divisions but always capable of a surprise.
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Karel Sedláček
The sole Czech representative in Gliwice, Sedláček has been a World Cup regular since 2017. He’s had some decent runs on the Players Championship circuit and reached a few Euro Tour quarter-finals – no mean feat given how tough they are to qualify for. Off the oche, Evil Charlie runs a gas warehouse back home – which sounds more like a Bond villain’s lair than a well managed business. But don’t be fooled – Karel is one of the sport’s genuine nice guys. And when he’s on song, he can take down anyone.
Pero Ljubić
The Croatian Knight brings some Balkan flair to the tournament. The title may be more of a nickname than a royal decree – but who’s to say he doesn’t ride a white steed in his spare time?
Ljubić earned his Tour Card on the final day of Q-School earlier this year and hasn’t made waves just yet – but getting that golden ticket is no easy task. He’s here on merit and has the game to cause an upset.
György Jehirszki
A latecomer to darts, the Hungarian only started playing during the COVID lockdowns – cutting his teeth online. He made his Poland Masters debut last year but was swiftly dispatched by Luke Humphries. Now 41, Jehirszki is still relatively new to the sport but has already made noise on the WDF circuit – notably reaching the quarter-finals of the 2023 Budapest Masters. He’s probably not a contender to lift the trophy, but with no pressure and nothing to lose, he could turn heads.
Krzysztof Kciuk
For a while on the PDC main tour, he played second fiddle in terms of fame to the other Polish Krzysztof – albeit a very good thrower in his own right. Oddly known as The Thumb, for reasons I can only assume involved being put on the spot for a nickname – looked at his hand and decided that’ll do.
Back home, he’s a front-end developer – whatever one of those is. But Kciuk does have talent, and when bang on it, can give the very best a run for their Zloty. He’s featured at Ally Pally twice, with a remarkable 14-year gap between appearances. Most recently, he fell to Conor Scutt at the 2024 Worlds. Another one to watch.
With a field full of superstars and underdogs alike, the 2025 Poland Darts Masters promises drama, noise, and maybe a few shocks along the way. Don’t be surprised if one of these lesser-known names makes a serious dent in the bracket. After all, nobody stays under the radar forever.
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