European Championship Darts 2023: Start date, venue, draw, seedings & how to watch

Everything you need to know as the top 32 players on the PDC's European Tour Order of Merit come together in Dortmund, Germany, for the latest instalment of the European Championship.

Ross Smith will begin the defence of his European title against new German star Ricardo Pietreczko, with the field and draw for the event now confirmed.

Smith, who won the title in sensational style 12 months ago, faces a tasty opening tie at the Westfalenhalle against Pietreczko, who claimed his first PDC ranking title win at the recent German Darts Championship.

Following the conclusion of the year's 13th and final European Tour event, the top 32 players on the 2023 European Tour Order of Merit secured qualification for the European Championship, which will take place from October 26-29.

Here's everything you need to know about the tournament.
 

European Championship Darts date

The competition will run for four days, between Thursday 26th October and Sunday 29th October, with the victor being crowned on Sunday evening - a bumper day in which the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final all take place across two sessions.
 

Where is the European Championship Darts?

For a second successive year the competition will be held at Dortmund's Westfalenhalle.

The German venue played host to Ross Smith's title-winning run 12 months ago, having previously been played out in Salzburg, Austria in 2021.

The competition's typical home has been in Germany, with the event held in the country in all but two years since its launch in 2008 - with Austria and Netherlands (2009) the only exceptions.
 

How to watch the European Championship Darts?

bet365 will be Live Streaming all of the action from Dortmund, meaning you don't have to miss a single arrow throughout the four days.

Meanwhile, ITV4 will be broadcasting the competition in the UK, as well as streaming providers DAZN and Viaplay.
 

European Championship Darts schedule

All details on the draw and format of the competition can be found below, along with live result updates throughout the competition.

European Championship Darts 2023: Schedule & Results
 

European Championship Darts record averages

Average:	Player:	Result:
118.14	Phil Taylor v Gary Anderson (2009)	10-3
113.92	Phil Taylor v Mervyn King (2008)	9-3
113.33	Phil Taylor v Robert Thornton (2008)	11-7
113.04	Raymond van Barneveld v Terry Jenkins (2012)	6-1
111.62	Michael van Gerwen v Mensur Suljovic (2016)	11-1

Most wins at the European Championship Darts

Darting greats Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor share the record for the most European Championship triumphs, having each won the competition on four occasions.

'The Power' won all four of his final appearances, consecutively between 2008 and 2011, whilst MvG repeated that same feat across 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

The Dutchman also reached the tournament showpiece in 2021 but succumbed to an 11-8 defeat against Rob Cross.

Cross is the only other player in fact to have won the tournament on more than one occasion - with his 2021 success coming two years on from an 11-6 success over Gerwyn Price.

Other players to have won the European Championship are Adrian Lewis, Simon Whitlock, James Wade, Peter Wright and defending champion Ross Smith, who beat world number one Michael Smith 12 months ago.
 

European Championship Darts history

The inaugural staging of the event took place in 2008 at Südbahnhof in Frankfurt, Germany, with a prize pot of £200,000 on offer - less than half of its current £500,000 value.

Phil Taylor won the tournament on each of the first four stagings of the event, three in Germany and one in the Netherlands, before the Australian Wizard Simon Whitlock reigned supreme in 2012.

'Jackpot' Adrian Lewis gained his third major win after beating Whitlock in the 2013 edition of the tournament, 12 months before 'Mighty' Michael van Gerwen won the first of four successive titles with victory over Terry Jenkins.

His second success in Germany came in 2015, as van Gerwen miraculously fought back from 7-10 behind to reel off four successive legs and defeat Gary Anderson 11-10 in an absolute thriller.

Van Gerwen followed that up with an 11-1 triumph over Mensur Suljović a year later, before making it a quadruple in 2017 courtesy of an 11-7 win over Rob Cross.

In 2018, James Wade won the title, and in 2019 Cross bounced back from his final loss to MvG two years prior, by becoming became European champion for the first time, whilst he then followed-up that success two years later on the back of Peter Wright's 2020 success.

Ross Smith will arrive in Germany as the defending champion however, after capturing the £120,000 top prize last time around having edged Michael Smith out 11-8, with an impressive 101.32 average.