Schedule Thursday night at European Championship 2023 including clash between Raymond van Barneveld and Michael Smith with Price, Wright and Aspinall also in action

The sixteenth edition of the European Darts Championship gets underway Thursday night. The 32 best players of the European Tour 2023 will be in action this weekend at the prestigious event in Dortmund.

On Thursday evening, the first eight duels of the first round are scheduled. Among others, two of the first five Dutch participants will appear on the podium in the Westfalenhallen.

NEW: Click here to use our live score center to follow the darts at the European Championship.

Directly in the first match of the European Darts Championship, Danny Noppert will then take on Andrew Gilding. Last year these two players also faced each other and then the win went 6-3 to Noppert.

Later in the evening Raymond van Barneveld will cross swords with Michael Smith. They recently met at the World Series Finals in Amsterdam and then Van Barneveld drew the longest. In the head-to-head, however, Smith leads 14-10.

Reigning World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall will take on Ryan Searle in the first round. Dave Chisnall, the number one seed at the European Darts Championship, will meet Chris Dobey. Two-time European Championship winner Rob Cross will battle Dimitri van den Bergh, the only Belgian participant at this tournament.

Gerwyn Price, one of the title favorites, starts his tournament against Irish darter Keane Barry. Two-time world champion Peter Wright plays against Gabriel Clemens in the first round, while the final match of the opening night is between Martin Schindler and Stephen Bunting.

Where to watch the European Darts Championship?

.In the UK, the tournament in full will be shown on ITV, with other territories being shown on a variety of platforms including Viaplay in the Netherlands, DAZN in Germany and PDCTV in those without TV coverage.

How much prize money is up for grabs at the European Darts Championship?

The PDC has provided £500,000 in prize money for this event. All 32 participants are guaranteed a £6,000 starting premium.

With a win in the first round, the proceeds rise to £10,000. This eventually rises further to £120,000 in prize money for the winner of the European Darts Championship.

Playing schedule European Championship 2023

Thursday, Oct. 26 (from 6:45 p.m.)

First round

Danny Noppert v Andrew Gilding

Nathan Aspinall v Ryan Searle

Dave Chisnall v Chris Dobey

Rob Cross v Dimitri Van den Bergh

Gerwyn Price v Keane Barry

Peter Wright v Gabriel Clemens

Michael Smith v Raymond van Barneveld

Martin Schindler v Stephen Bunting