The 2023 European Championship gets underway on Thursday, Oct. 26. Once again, the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund is hosting this major tournament. There are 32 players competing in this event.
The field consists of the 32 best players from the Euro Tour tournaments in 2023. The draw for the European Championship is also based on the Euro Tour tournament rankings, allowing big names to meet early in the tournament.
"It's a completely different situation," Robert Marijanovic analyzes in conversation with Elmar Paulke in their joint podcast. "Matches like Damon Heta against Gian van Veen right away in the first round I find interesting, Ratajski against Joe Cullen - that's a cracker. Also Chris Dobey, an outsider, is only seeded 32nd at this tournament. Therefore he will play Dave Chisnall. A lot of fireworks can be expected right away.''
In addition to the aforementioned matches, Michael Smith and Raymond van Barneveld are also paired up for the first round. In this, Marijanovic sees good chances for the Dutchman.
''It can go two ways; exciting or totally unspectacular. Which way it will be is entirely up to Barney. Michael Smith will just do what Michael Smith does: play darts. It could also just be a match where Raymond starts shaking his head, nodding off and giving up after only three or four legs.''
But Marijanovic certainly does not consider the five-time world champion hopeless, especially because of the short format (best of 11 legs) in the first round. ''That's a very short format. That's also why I think Raymond has a real chance. If there are chances to beat Michael Smith at a major, it's with this format.''
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