The 2026 European Championship is set to take place from 22-25 October at the Westfalenhallen in Dortmund, Germany. It will be the 19th staging of the tournament, with a total prize fund of £750,000 and £150,000 going to the winner. Unlike normal tournaments, the field features the top 32 players from the Order of Merit based on ranking money earned in the 15 European Tour events held as part of the 2026 PDC ProTour season. Gian van Veen looks to defend his title, while Kevin Doets and Niels Zonneveld are debutants. Luke Littler, Gerwyn Price and Luke Humphries also lead the way.
The first round gets underway on Thursday evening, with Gerwyn Price v Rob Cross the main attraction. Luke Humphries once again locks horns with close friend Ryan Searle as he looks to back up his excellent triumph at the World Grand Prix. Also looking to back up recent form are Gian van Veen, James Wade and Ross Smith, all of whom star on night one. Van Veen takes on Andrew Gilding, Smith faces Karel Sedlacek, and Wade is set to face Damon Heta. Niels Zonneveld, the latest European Tour winner, will face Cameron Menzies, while the night opens with Luke Woodhouse v Dirk van Duijvenbode and Danny Noppert taking on Stephen Bunting.
The schedule continues on Friday 23 October with an afternoon session starting at 12:00, featuring Ryan Joyce v Jermaine Wattimena, Krzysztof Ratajski v Dave Chisnall, Nathan Aspinall v Cristo Reyes, Jonny Clayton v Niko Springer, Luke Littler v William O'Connor, Wessel Nijman v Martin Schindler, Kevin Doets v Michael van Gerwen and Josh Rock v Chris Dobey. The second round takes place on Saturday 24 October across afternoon and evening sessions, with the quarter-finals on Sunday afternoon and the semi-finals and final on Sunday evening.
The draw bracket is headlined by top seed Ross Smith against Karel Sedlacek, with James Wade v Damon Heta, Gian van Veen v Andrew Gilding, Luke Woodhouse v Dirk van Duijvenbode, Niels Zonneveld v Cameron Menzies, Gerwyn Price v Rob Cross, Danny Noppert v Stephen Bunting and Luke Humphries v Ryan Searle in the top half. The bottom half includes Wessel Nijman v Martin Schindler, Ryan Joyce v Jermaine Wattimena, Jonny Clayton v Niko Springer, Josh Rock v Chris Dobey, Krzysztof Ratajski v Dave Chisnall, Kevin Doets v Michael van Gerwen, Nathan Aspinall v Cristo Reyes and Luke Littler v William O'Connor.
The format sees the first round best of 11 legs, the second round and quarter-finals best of 19 legs, and the semi-finals and final best of 21 legs. The field is led by Ross Smith (ENG), Wessel Nijman (NED), Krzysztof Ratajski (POL), Niels Zonneveld (NED), Danny Noppert (NED), Nathan Aspinall (ENG), Jonny Clayton (WAL), Gian van Veen (NED), Luke Woodhouse (ENG), Josh Rock (NIR), Luke Littler (ENG), Luke Humphries (ENG), Gerwyn Price (WAL), Kevin Doets (NED), Ryan Joyce (ENG), James Wade (ENG), Damon Heta (AUS), Jermaine Wattimena (NED), Michael van Gerwen (NED), Rob Cross (ENG), Ryan Searle (ENG), William O'Connor (IRL), Chris Dobey (ENG), Dirk van Duijvenbode (NED), Andrew Gilding (ENG), Niko Springer (GER), Cristo Reyes (ESP), Stephen Bunting (ENG), Cameron Menzies (SCO), Dave Chisnall (ENG), Martin Schindler (GER) and Karel Sedláček (CZE).
History shows Phil Taylor dominated the early years, winning in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, before Simon Whitlock (2012), Adrian Lewis (2013), Michael van Gerwen (2014-2017), James Wade (2018), Rob Cross (2019, 2021), Peter Wright (2020, 2023), Ross Smith (2022), Ritchie Edhouse (2024) and Gian van Veen (2025) added their names to the roll of honour. Van Veen's 2025 triumph came via an 11-10 win over Luke Humphries, with a 101.00 average in the final.
Predictions are split among the DartsNews team. Samuel Gill, Head Editor for DartsNews.com, picks Ross Smith for glory, saying: "I see another strange winner on the horizon. Well, not strange in the context of who it is, but more so because Luke Littler won't win." Pieter Verbeek, editor for DartsNieuws.com, still picks Luke Littler as his firm favourite, noting: "Although Luke Littler doesn't seem to have been at his absolute best in recent weeks, he remains the clear favourite to win the European Championship in my eyes. Motivation certainly won't be an issue, as this is now the only major title missing from 'The Nuke's' trophy cabinet." Oliver Ried, editor for DartsNews. DE, picks Gerwyn Price to break his major hoodoo, while Mats Leering, editor for DartsNieuws.com, also picks Luke Littler. Nicolas Gayer, Editor for DartsNews.DE, weighs in with the thoughts that Luke Littler won't be down for long.
