Preview European Darts Open 2024: who will win last European Tour tournament before summer break?

We are in Leverkusen this weekend (June 21-23) for the European Darts Open. It is the last European Tour tournament before the summer break, as the next European Tour event is not until the end of August.

This tournament is also one of the last tournaments in the qualifying race for the World Matchplay. The field of participants for the tournament in Blackpool is already largely fixed, but the battle for the last final qualifying spots is still open.

The European Darts Open is one of the longest running European Tour tournaments. The first edition was played back in 2012, when it was won by Raymond van Barneveld. In 2013, the title went to Michael van Gerwen. The Vlijmen native then won his first of a total of five titles at this event. Also in 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2022, the title went to Van Gerwen.

Peter Wright is the only other player to win this tournament more than once. 'Snakebite' captured the title in 2014 and 2017. In between, the victory in 2015 went to Robert Thornton. Gerwyn Price is the defending champion at this edition after 'The Iceman' claimed the title in 2023. He beat Dirk van Duijvenbode 8-7 after a thrilling final.

Gary Anderson, Luke Littler, Nathan Aspinall, Jonny Clayton and Ryan Joyce withdrew from the European Darts Open prior to the draw, but there are still more than enough big names who do travel to Leverkusen.

Five-time tournament winner Michael van Gerwen is in attendance, as are defending champion Gerwyn Price and reigning world champion Luke Humphries. In addition, Peter Wright, Dave Chisnall, Michael Smith, James Wade, Josh Rock and Dimitri van den Bergh have confirmed their participation.

Top-16 seeded players: Luke Humphries, Dave Chisnall, Damon Heta, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, Danny Noppert, Michael van Gerwen, Josh Rock, Ross Smith, Ryan Searle, Stephen Bunting, Martin Schindler, Peter Wright, Chris Dobey, Ricardo Pietreczko, Gian van Veen

Order of Merit Qualifiers: Michael Smith, Dimitri Van den Bergh, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Joe Cullen, Daryl Gurney, Raymond van Barneveld, Krzysztof Ratajski, Andrew Gilding, James Wade, Gabriel Clemens, Luke Woodhouse

Remaining Qualifiers: Nathan Rafferty, Radek Szagański, Mike De Decker, Callan Rydz, Dom Taylor, Karel Sedláček, Matthew Dennant, Andy Baetens, Owen Bates, Jeffrey de Graaf, Nico Kurz, Nico Blum, Kevin Troppmann, Jan Dueckers, Marko Kantele, Benjamin Pratnemer, Ritchie Edhouse, Kevin Doets, Dylan Slevin, Jamie Hughes, Ryan Meikle

Luke Humphries is the big favorite for the victory prior to the European Darts Open. The Englishman played five European Tours earlier this year, reaching the final twice. Humphries won the German Darts Grand Prix, but lost to Rob Cross in the final of the Baltic Sea Darts Open.

Cross is also one of his biggest competitors in Leverkusen. 'Voltage' is in top form this year. He already reached two European Tour finals in 2024, while Cross was in three World Series finals this month. Two of these three finals he played against Gerwyn Price, the defending champion at the European Darts Open. The Iceman took the Nordic Darts Masters title earlier this month, after losing to Cross in the final of the US Darts Masters.

The biggest favorite is not Michael van Gerwen, but 'Mighty Mike' is obviously still among the contenders for the title. Van Gerwen has already won this tournament five times. Other outsiders are Josh Rock and Michael Smith. Bullyboy' will probably have a particularly tough route to take the title. Smith may have to get past James Wade, Rob Cross, Peter Wright, Gerwyn Price, Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen to win the tournament.

*** Luke Humphries

** Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price

* Michael van Gerwen, Josh Rock, Michael Smith

The tournament will be broadcast by PDC TV. As usual with European Tour tournaments, the European Darts Open consists of three tournament days. The afternoon sessions start daily at 12:00 BST, while the evening sessions start at 18:00 BST.

The first round will take place on Friday. The 16 Order of Merit qualifiers and the winners from the various qualifying tournaments then make their appearance. The top-16 seeded players enter the tournament on Saturday in the second round.

Sunday will see the denouement of the tournament, starting with the third round in the afternoon session. Sunday evening will be followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.

At the European Darts Open, a total of 175,000 pounds in prize money will be divided among the 48 participants. They will receive at least 1250 pounds in starting money. The top-16 seeded players who enter this tournament from the second round are guaranteed to get 2500 pounds.

They do - like the 16 Order of Merit qualifiers starting in the first round - have to win their first match in order for the prize money to count toward the world rankings and the other rankings. The winner of the 2024 European Darts Open will ultimately go home with the top prize of 30,000 pounds.