Darts Mixed Doubles: Road to the Champion

In the mixed competition at the German Championships 2026, Marvin Seidel and Thuc Nguyen are considered a couple to beat. However, both hungry young duos and the title-experienced mixed pair Franziska and Patrick Volkmann are waiting in Cloppenburg – a constellation that keeps the title fight open.

(1) Marvin Seidel / Thuc Nguyen

Marvin Seidel and Thuc Nguyen go into the tournament as the top seeds. The duo confirmed their strong early form in 2026 by reaching the round of 16 at the Malaysia Open and the India Open on the BWF World Tour. The all-clear has also been given for Seidel, who had to retire from the last Bundesliga weekend after twisting his ankle, but is now fit for action again. The goal is clearly formulated: “The goal this time is of course the title in mixed doubles. I’m a little annoyed by last year’s final,” says Seidel, looking back on the 2025 final, which he lost alongside Linda Efler. The next attempt is now to follow in Cloppenburg.

(2) Malik Bourakkadi / Leona Michalski

Malik Bourakkadi and Leona Michalski start in second place. Since they were formed together, they have established themselves internationally and continued to develop.
“I’m really looking forward to mixed doubles with Malik. We’ve played well recently in the Bundesliga and at tournaments, developed further as a pair and have become significantly stronger as a team. We definitely want to win a medal again like we did last year, but at the same time, above all, have fun, perform well together and show our best badminton,” says Michalski. Bourakkadi adds: “Our ambitions are high – in mixed doubles as well as in men’s doubles, it’s about the title for us. Cloppenburg made us want more last year.”

(3/4) Simon Krax / Amelie Lehmann

Simon Krax and Amelie Lehmann travel to the title fights with a lot of tailwind. Victories at the Czech International Future Series 2025, finals at the Belgian International and recently at the Estonian International 2026 underline their constant development. “We want to do justice to our seeding and bring our level to the pitch. If we succeed in that, a medal is definitely possible – even if of course there is a certain amount of pressure involved,” says Krax. Lehmann adds: “If we can deliver the performance we have shown many times before, then a lot is possible at the DM.”

(3/4) Patrick Volkmann / Franziska Volkmann

After winning the title in 2025 alongside Jan Colin Völker, Franziska Volkmann is competing this time together with her husband Patrick Volkmann. The couple now lives and trains in Austria and uses the DM as the first endurance test after an intensive training phase. “We don’t know exactly where we stand yet. Our goal is a medal – and to challenge the other pairings from a slightly different role,” explains Volkmann. The duo became German champions together in 2023 – at that time also from seed 3/4.

Seeds 5-8: Broad quality in the field

There is more class lurking behind the top four. Jonathan Dresp and Selin Hübsch in particular drew attention with their tournament victory at the Estonian International at the beginning of January – including a final victory against their respective doubles partners Krax/Lehmann. “We want to check our current level of play at the DM and then see how far it goes,” said Dresp.

Seedings five to eight are completed by Christian Dumler/Mareike Bittner, Marcello Kausemann/Annika Horbach and Kjell Wagener/Ella Neve, who impressed several times at the national level in 2025.