PDC European Championship preview - Thursday session

An explosive weekend of action in Dortmund will bring the European Tour season to an end. 13 European Tour events and one qualifier decided the 32 names. Now the 32 will slowly be whittled down to one. Who will join Phil Taylor, Simon Whitlock, Adrian Lewis and Michael van Gerwen in the winner's circle? Or could Mighty Mike make it five in a row?
The first game of the European Championship decides who the PDC world number one could face in round two. Steve West and Mervyn King are closely matched - being 16th and 17th seeds reflects that. The battle of Englishmen could go either way. That's followed by another all-English battle as Ian White, a winner on the European Tour this year, takes on Richard North.
Former European Championship winner Simon Whitlock then takes on Steve Beaton. In the fourth tie, Michael Smith meets Steve Lennon. Joe Cullen and Jelle Klaasen meet in what could be a very entertaining clash.
The road to Dortmund glory for van Gerwen begins against a familiar face - or voice, at least. Paul Nicholson has been a regular in the commentary box, when he hasn't been playing. His showings on the oche were enough to get him to the season finale. He'll need to be at his very best if he doesn't want a swift return to the gantry.
Rob Cross made last year's final - he'll need to beat former Lakeside runner-up Danny Noppert to kick off his quest to go a step further. The final tie could be an intriguing one. Second in the world but ninth seed for this tournament, Peter Wright faces what could be a real struggle against Jermaine Wattimena.
Play begins at 8pm BST. The action will be live on ITV4 - check out the schedule here.

19:00 Steve West v Mervyn King 19:30 Ian White v Richard North 20:00 Simon Whitlock v Steve Beaton 20:30 Michael Smith v Steve Lennon 21:00 Joe Cullen v Jelle Klaasen 21:30 Michael van Gerwen v Paul Nicholson 22:00 Rob Cross v Danny Noppert 22:30 Peter Wright v Jermaine Wattimena