The draw for the 2026 European Darts Championship in Dortmund has been made, with Gerwyn Price versus Rob Cross emerging as the standout first-round tie. The tournament, featuring 32 players all qualified through the European Tour Order of Merit, takes place from 22 to 25 October, with the first round split across Thursday 22 and Friday 23 October before the new champion is crowned on Sunday 25 October.
Luke Littler begins his campaign against William O'Connor as he targets the only major individual televised title missing from his honours list. Luke Humphries, one of his main rivals, takes on Ryan Searle, while Jonny Clayton meets German player Niko Springer. Top seed Ross Smith, who secured the number one seeding after winning two Euro Tour titles, faces Czech player Karel Sedlacek.
Defending champion Gian van Veen starts his bid for a second European title against Andrew Gilding. The 24-year-old won his first major individual televised title last year by lifting the European Darts Championship trophy, and now faces the 2023 UK Open winner. Recent Euro Tour winner Niels Zonneveld, who caused a sensation last weekend by winning the Dutch Darts Championship in Maastricht with an 8-5 final win over compatriot Danny Noppert, is seeded fourth and opens against Scotland's Cameron Menzies. Noppert himself faces Stephen Bunting, who made a last-gasp move to seal his spot and has reached the semi-finals at each of the last three editions of the European Championship.
One of the first round's most intriguing ties sees Michael van Gerwen take on Kevin Doets. Doets reached his first European Tour final earlier this season and is seeded 14th, while Van Gerwen starts the tournament 19th in the seedings. The three-time world champion has excellent memories of the European Championship, having won the event four years in a row from 2014 to 2017. Another notable tie sees James Wade face Damon Heta.
Full first-round draw: (1) Ross Smith v (32) Karel Sedlacek; (16) James Wade v (17) Damon Heta; (8) Gian van Veen v (8) Andrew Gilding; (9) Luke Woodhouse v (24) Dirk van Duijvenbode; (4) Niels Zonneveld v (29) Cameron Menzies; (13) Gerwyn Price v (20) Rob Cross; (5) Danny Noppert v (28) Stephen Bunting; (12) Luke Humphries v (21) Ryan Searle; (2) Wessel Nijman v (31) Martin Schindler; (15) Ryan Joyce v (18) Jermaine Wattimena; (7) Jonny Clayton v (26) Niko Springer; (10) Josh Rock v (23) Chris Dobey; (3) Krzysztof Ratajski v (30) Dave Chisnall; (14) Kevin Doets v (19) Michael van Gerwen; (6) Nathan Aspinall v (27) Cristo Reyes; (11) Luke Littler v (22) William O'Connor.