European Championship darts in Dortmund: Littler, Humphries and Van Gerwen's first-round ties, 22-25 October

The PDC European Championship begins on Thursday 22 October 2026 at the Westfalenhallen in Dortmund, Germany, and runs until the final on Sunday 25 October. The first-round draw has been made, with Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen all in action. The event has not started yet, so this is a preview of the draw and format.

All 32 players qualified through the European Tour Order of Merit. The total prize fund is GBP 750,000, and the winner receives GBP 150,000.

The draw

Defending champion Gian van Veen, the eighth seed, plays Andrew Gilding. Van Veen won the title last year by beating Luke Humphries 11-10 in a deciding leg of the final set.

Some of the other first-round ties are:

• Ross Smith (1) v Karel Sedlacek (32)
• Wessel Nijman (2) v Martin Schindler (31)
• Krzysztof Ratajski (3) v Dave Chisnall (30)
• Niels Zonneveld (4) v Cameron Menzies (29)
• Luke Littler (11) v William O'Connor (22)
• Luke Humphries (12) v Ryan Searle (21)
• Gerwyn Price (13) v Rob Cross (20)
• Kevin Doets (14) v Michael van Gerwen (19)

Seeds are based on the European Tour Order of Merit, not the world rankings. Van Gerwen, a four-time champion of this event, is the 19th seed.

Recent form

Humphries beat Price 6-4 in the final of the World Grand Prix in Leicester, after a comeback, at the start of this month. Price now plays Cross in Dortmund, and Humphries plays Searle.

Zonneveld, the fourth seed, recently won the Dutch Darts Championship. Menzies, his first-round opponent, won Players Championship 29 in Den Bosch on 22 September.

Format and history

The event is a straight knockout. The first round is best of 11 legs and the second round is best of 19. The quarter-finals are also best of 19, while the semi-finals and final are best of 21.

Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen are the most successful players in the event, with four titles each. Rob Cross and Peter Wright have won it twice. Cross meets Price in the first round this year.

Last year's winner Van Veen is the most recent first-time champion. Other one-time winners include Ross Smith in 2022 and Ritchie Edhouse in 2024.

Watching from Malaysia

Dortmund is six hours behind Malaysia until Saturday night. Evening sessions in Germany therefore finish in the early hours in Malaysia. The full session schedule had not been confirmed when the draw was published, so check the PDC for start times. Free coverage in the UK is on ITV4.

Key takeaways

• The European Championship runs from 22 to 25 October at the Westfalenhallen in Dortmund.
• Defending champion Gian van Veen plays Andrew Gilding on the opening night.
• Littler v O'Connor, Humphries v Searle, Price v Cross and Doets v Van Gerwen are among the first-round ties.
• The winner takes GBP 150,000 from a GBP 750,000 prize fund.

FAQ

Q: When is the European Championship final?

The final is on Sunday 25 October 2026 in Dortmund. It is a best-of-21-leg match.

Q: Who is the defending champion?

Gian van Veen of the Netherlands won the 2025 title, beating Luke Humphries 11-10 in the final.

Q: How do players qualify for the European Championship?

The top 32 players on the PDC European Tour Order of Merit take part. The draw is seeded by that list.

Sources: Darts News, The Scotsman, Yahoo Sports, Radio X