Everything you need to know ahead of the 2026 European Darts Trophy as Nathan Aspinall returns to Gottingen, Germany, bidding to make a successful defence of the title he claimed 12 months ago.
Dates
The 2026 European Darts Trophy gets underway on Friday 13th March and runs through until Sunday 15th March.
Prize Money
Winner: | £30,000 |
Runner-Up: | £12,000 |
Semi-Final Losers: | £8,500 |
Quarter-Final Losers: | £6,000 |
Third Round Losers: | £4,000 |
Second Round Losers: | £2,500 |
First Round Losers: | £1,250 |
The tournament will feature a total prize fund of £175,000 with the winner set to collect £30,000 of that pot.
Venue & Location
The 2026 European Darts Trophy took place at the Lokhalle, which is situated in the German town of Gottingen in Lower Saxony - the venue dates back to the 1920s, but has existed in its current modern state since 1998.
The multi-purpose hall can accommodate as many as 7500 people standing, though that capacity is reduced for darts, with seating in place.
The Lokhalle is directly adjacent to Gottingen's ICE railway station and just a few minutes' walk from the pedestrian precinct.
The venue has hosted major basketball events, concerts, cultural events and two previous editions of the European Darts Trophy.
After successfully hosting the 2025 edition of the tournament, the venue is likely to return in 2026.
Line-up and Qualifying
The top 16 on the two-year PDC Order of Merit ranking will be seeded and enter the tournament in the second round, while the 16 qualifiers from the one-year PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit come in at the first round.
Of the remaining 16 places, 10 will come from the Tour Card Holder Qualifier, four from the Host Nation Qualifier, one from the Nordic & Baltic Associate Member Qualifier and one from the East European Associate Member Qualifier.
Format and Rules
16 first round contests took place between the 32 non-seeded players, with the winners advancing to the second round to face one of the 16 seeded players.
32 players in the second round became 16 in the third round, eight in the quarter-finals, four in the semi-finals, before a winner is crowned in a best of 15 legs final.
- First round: Best of 11 legs
- Second round: Best of 11 legs
- Third round: Best of 11 legs
- Quarter-finals: Best of 11 legs
- Semi-finals: Best of 13 legs
- Final: Best of 15 legs
History
There was a seven-year hiatus prior to the return of the European Darts Trophy in 2025, in which Nathan Aspinall defeated Ryan Joyce 8-4 in the final to clinch the award.
