Eyes will mainly be on the Euro 2024 on Friday evening, with the match between the Netherlands and France being played in Leipzig. However some 500 kilometres west of Leipzig, the
European Darts Open is being played in Leverkusen.
For true darts fans, there are some great matches on the schedule during the evening session of the first round. Several former world champions and major winners will then play their first match of the tournament.
The evening session gets underway with a match between
Benjamin Pratnemer and Kevin Troppmann, before
Nico Kurz battles
Callan Rydz. Former Masters champion
Joe Cullen is the first big name in action. He will meet
Owen Bates in the first round.
Then, five-time world champion
Raymond van Barneveld takes to the stage in the Ostermann Arena for his match against
Krzysztof Ratajski. The head-to-head is not very hopeful for 'Barney' as he lost five of the six previous meetings with Ratajski. However the good sign for Van Barneveld is that he won their last meeting in 2023.
The tie of the evening is the clash between former world champion
Michael Smith and 11-time major winner
James Wade. For Wade, other interests come into play. 'The Machine' is not yet sure of participating in the World Matchplay and currently holds the last qualifying spot. A win over Smith is much needed to gain important ranking money.
Mike de Decker is one of Wade's pursuers. He faces
Luke Woodhouse in the sixth match of the evening.
Dirk van Duijvenbode will next take on
Gabriel Clemens, before the evening session concludes with a meeting between
Ryan Meikle and
Dimitri van den Bergh.
TV and live stream
The European Darts Open will be broadcast on
PDC TV. As usual with Euro Tour tournaments, the European Darts Open consists of three tournament days. The afternoon sessions start daily at 12:00, while the evening sessions start at 18:00, UK time.
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 quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.
Distribution of prize money
At this Euro Tour tournament, a total of £175,000 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 the European Darts Open from the second round will receive 2,500 pounds anyway.
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.
Schedule European Darts Open 2024
Friday June 21
First Round
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Benjamin Pratnemer v Kevin Troppmann
Nico Kurz v Callan Rydz
Owen Bates v Joe Cullen
Raymond van Barneveld v Krzysztof Ratajski
Michael Smith v James Wade
Mike De Decker v Luke Woodhouse
Gabriel Clemens v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Ryan Meikle v Dimitri Van den Bergh