Preview European Darts Trophy 2025 - Will Michael van Gerwen succeed in defending his title in Göttingen seven years later?
PDC
In Göttingen, Germany, the European Darts Trophy is on the program this weekend. This tournament made a noted return to the darts calendar. Six consecutive editions of this tournament took place between 2013 and 2018, now it returns to the PDC Pro Tour after a seven-year absence.
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The European Darts Trophy first took place in 2013, when it was won by Wes Newton. Michael Smith then managed to win the 2014 and 2015 editions by beating Michael van Gerwen in the final each time. However, it turned out to be third time lucky for the Dutchman, who did take the title in 2016 after losing two finals. Van Gerwen then won the tournament in 2017 and 2018 as well. So after seven years, 'Mighty Mike' may try to defend his title.
Follow the European Darts Trophy 2025 also via our live scores!
Follow the European Darts Trophy 2025 also via our live scores!
The European Darts Trophy is the second tournament of the European Tour 2025 after the Belgian Darts Open, which was held earlier this month in Wieze. In Wieze, Luke Littler was unbeatable, beating Mike De Decker 8-5 in the final to successfully defend his title from last year.
However, Littler will be absent this weekend for the European Darts Trophy and that may open up opportunities for other players. Luke Humphries will be there and the number one of the world will be eager for a strong performance, after his quick exit against Decker in Wieze. Humphries is already in form, as he proved by winning the Masters early this year and he is also currently leading the Premier League Darts.
Doubts
Van Gerwen is currently third in the world rankings, but in Göttingen this weekend he is seeded second due to Littler's absence. 'Mighty Mike' did reach the final at the World Darts Championship earlier this year, but has been on the wane ever since. A quarterfinal at Players Championship 5 is his best result in the past two months. Can Van Gerwen prolong his title from seven years ago at the European Darts Trophy? Then he not only has to deal with the strong opposition, the Dutchman has also been struggling with a virus for some time (as his best friend Vincent van der Voort indicated) and the question is whether Van Gerwen can have his full arsenal of strength at his disposal this weekend.
Anderson
And what can Gary Anderson do? The Scot impressed with very high averages last year and also won some Players Championships and a Euro Tour. This year, however, it was all much less for the 54-year-old Scot. Until this week, when he made his presence felt again by winning the seventh Players Championship of the year. Enough for Anderson to be launched again? That will have to be seen this weekend.
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In addition, with Rob Cross, Jonny Clayton, Dave Chisnall, Damon Heta, Nathan Aspinall and Chris Dobey, among others, just about all the top-ranked players in the world rankings are present in Göttingen this weekend.
The sixteen highest-ranked players in the world rankings are unranked for the first round. In the second round, they will take on the winners of the matches between the top 16 on the Pro Tour Order of Merit and the 16 qualifiers.
TV Guide
The tournament will be broadcast by PDC TV. As usual with Euro Tour tournaments, the European Darts Trophy consists of three tournament days. The afternoon sessions will start daily at 12 p.m., while the evening sessions will start at 6 p.m.
The first round will take place on Friday, where the 16 Pro Tour players will face 16 players who emerged from the various qualifying tournaments. The winners of these matches will face a player from the top-16 of the world rankings in the second round on Saturday. The third round will be played on Sunday afternoon, before the quarterfinals, semifinals and final are completed on Sunday evening.
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Distribution of prize money
All entrants starting from the first round are guaranteed £1250 in prize money, while the top 16 enter from the second round and receive £2,500 anyway. This amount eventually rises to the grand prize of £30,000 for the winner.
An important detail is that players who are automatically seeded via the Order of Merit and lose their first match will not be awarded prize money on the various rankings. This does apply to qualifiers who are later designated as seeded by the withdrawal of others.
Draw European Darts Trophy
(6) Damon Heta v Cameron Menzies/Alan Soutar
(11) Peter Wright v Mike De Decker/Martin Lukeman
(3) Rob Cross v Andrew Gilding/Callan Rydz
(14) Dimitri Van den Bergh v Ryan Joyce/Joe Cullen
(7) Gerwyn Price v Ryan Searle/Laurin Welk
(10) Danny Noppert v Wessel Nijman/Paul Krohne
(2) Michael van Gerwen v Daryl Gurney/Niko Springer
(15) Josh Rock v Gian van Veen/Connor Scutt
(5) Dave Chisnall v Raymond van Barneveld/Ricky Evans
(12) James Wade v Ross Smith/Michael Unterbuchner
(4) Jonny Clayton v Martin Schindler/Adam Hunt
(13) Gary Anderson v Luke Woodhouse/Dominik Gruellich
(8) Nathan Aspinall v Ritchie Edhouse/Kevin Doets
(9) Chris Dobey v Jermaine Wattimena/Marko Kantele
(1) Luke Humphries v Dirk van Duijvenbode/Boris Krcmar
(16) Michael Smith v Ricardo Pietreczko/Daniel Klose
(11) Peter Wright v Mike De Decker/Martin Lukeman
(3) Rob Cross v Andrew Gilding/Callan Rydz
(14) Dimitri Van den Bergh v Ryan Joyce/Joe Cullen
(7) Gerwyn Price v Ryan Searle/Laurin Welk
(10) Danny Noppert v Wessel Nijman/Paul Krohne
(2) Michael van Gerwen v Daryl Gurney/Niko Springer
(15) Josh Rock v Gian van Veen/Connor Scutt
(5) Dave Chisnall v Raymond van Barneveld/Ricky Evans
(12) James Wade v Ross Smith/Michael Unterbuchner
(4) Jonny Clayton v Martin Schindler/Adam Hunt
(13) Gary Anderson v Luke Woodhouse/Dominik Gruellich
(8) Nathan Aspinall v Ritchie Edhouse/Kevin Doets
(9) Chris Dobey v Jermaine Wattimena/Marko Kantele
(1) Luke Humphries v Dirk van Duijvenbode/Boris Krcmar
(16) Michael Smith v Ricardo Pietreczko/Daniel Klose
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The ten Tour Card Holder Qualifiers for next month's European Darts Trophy (ET2) have been confirmed!
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) February 12, 2025
🏴 Joe Cullen
🏴 Alan Soutar
🏴 Adam Hunt
🏴 Connor Scutt
🇩🇪 Dominik Gruellich
🏴 Martin Lukeman
🏴 Callan Rydz
🇳🇱 Kevin Doets
🇩🇪 Niko Springer
🏴 Ricky Evans pic.twitter.com/XimGq6LEyG
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- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026
- Littler lost to crabtree in the youth/junior/whatever you call it. He had no point in being there. He's unfortunately now got to the stage,he feels all he has to do is get on the stage to win. Well,I hope he realises part of his fear factor has gone. Happened to Taylor,then van gerwen,and it's causing him to realise pretty sharp,he isn't unstoppable. It's good for the sport,not 1 single player in my 60 years has ever,or will ever be, unbeatable.rick6725-10-2026
- I think it's great to see Mark Webster looking good,good ladrick6725-10-2026
- I agree,I can't believe the lack of coverage of this sad loss. Always enjoyed watching him,but I guess now it's all about littler,well it seems that way. Darts has sadly lost a good manrick6717-10-2026
- In the absence of a report regarding the death of Stefan Lord, I'll assist. An excellent player in the late 70s and early 80s, he actually won the now defunct 3rd place match at two World Championships and a couple of the News of the World Championships. A fabulous player and easily the best Swedish player ever. Rest peacefully Stefan.richieburnettrocks16-10-2026