What are the five best matches in the first round of the 2024 European Championship Darts?

The 2024 European Championship Darts gets underway Thursday evening in Dortmund. At the Westfalenhalle, 32 players will compete for the title from Thursday, Oct. 24, to Sunday, Oct. 27.

All Tour Card holders had a chance to qualify for the European Darts Championships this year through the European Tour. The circuit consisted of a total of 13 tournaments in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. The results counted toward the PDC European Tour Order of Merit, from which the top-32 received an invitation to compete in this tournament. The draw was based entirely on the final positions of the players on this ranking list, which produced some great draws for the first round. Dartsnews.com has listed the five best matches.

A clash between two of the best scoring players this season, and two players who are ready for a good result at a ranking major. Stephen Bunting won the Masters this year, but that tournament did not count for the world ranking. 'The Bullet' still made it to the quarterfinals at the Masters, while Anderson made his last quarterfinal at the Grand Slam of Darts in 2023.

Unlike Bunting, Anderson did manage to win a Euro Tour tournament this year. 'The Flying Scotsman' surprisingly won the European Darts Grand Prix in April, his first Euro Tour title since 2014. Anderson then decided to skip all of the last nine Euro Tours of 2024. Bunting did play all Euro Tour tournaments in 2024. He made it to the semifinals twice and the quarterfinals three times.

The head-to-head is well in Anderson's favor. Of the previous nineteen encounters, fourteen were won by the two-time world champion. On the ranking majors, the score is even 4-0 in favor of the 53-year-old Scot.

Actually, Ryan Searle should have been a lot higher on the European Tour Order of Merit. In late September, "Heavy Metal" had no fewer than seven match darts to win the Swiss Darts Trophy, but he missed all his chances. It would have been the crowning glory of a fairly solid Euro Tour season, as Searle made it to at least the quarter-finals eight times. On TV, however, things are going a lot less for the man who was still in the final of the Players Championship Finals in 2021. Since then, Searle made it to the quarterfinals of a major only once.

Raymond van Barneveld began the season with three defeats on the Euro Tour, but then comfortably secured a spot at the European Darts Championship. A quarterfinal at the Swiss Darts Trohpy was the highlight of his Euro Tour season. A good result would suit the 57-year-old Hague native perfectly. In November, 50,000 pounds will disappear from his ranking because he was in the semifinals of the Grand Slam of Darts in 2022. Currently, Van Barneveld has not yet qualified for that tournament, so he will have to cover that amount with income from other tournaments. That semifinal finish two years ago was also the only time since his comeback in 2021 that Van Barneveld made it to the last eight of a ranking major.

The five-time world champion does not have a best record against Searle. Seven times Searle pulled out the longest, and only twice did the victory go to Van Barneveld. If there is anything 'Barney' can draw help from; the last time these two players faced each other in Germany, the win did go to Van Barneveld.

Two darters whose roots are in St Helens, where, incidentally, fellow villager Stephen Bunting is also from. Although Michael Smith still lives in St Helens, Dave Chisnall has moved to Morecambe in the north. Two men who know each other through and through, and have played each other 21 times on the PDC stage. Smith won 11 times, Chisnall ran away with the win nine times and once it was a draw in the old format of Premier League Darts.

Chisnall has been doing well on the Euro Tour in recent years and managed to scoop two titles again this year. On television, however, the results have been pretty poor. In the last three seasons, "Chizzy" was in the quarterfinals of a ranking major only twice. If Chisnall manages to shine regularly on the Euro Tour stage, then he should succeed once on a major.

Michael Smith seemed loose after winning the Grand Slam of Darts (2022) and the World Darts Championship (2023), but the opposite turned out to be true. In his year as world champion, "Bullyboy" took it easy, and this year Smith only made it to the semifinals at the World Matchplay. However, he did manage to win the World Cup of Darts together with fellow countryman Luke Humphries. At the European Darts Championship Smith has quite a lot of prize money to defend, because two years ago he was in the final of the European Championship Darts. He lost that one to Ross Smith at the time, leaving him with £60,000 from that tournament.

These two Englishmen have already achieved success at the European Darts Championship. In 2017, Cross reached his first major final at this tournament. At the time, Cross lost that final to Michael van Gerwen, but in 2019 and 2021, the former world champion still managed to win his name. Wade has also reached the final at the European Darts Championship three times. He took the title in 2018 by beating Simon Whitlock in the final, while 'The Machine' was the losing finalist in 2020 and 2023.

Cross played nine of 13 Euro Tour tournaments this season. With a title and another final, "Voltage" can label his Euro Tour season as successful. The same cannot be said for Wade. The left-handed dart player managed to get past the second round only once in his thirteen Euro Tour appearances. That is too little for someone of his stature. On television, Wade is doing a lot better, with a semifinal at the World Matchplay and a quarterfinal at the World Grand Prix. Cross is performing pretty consistently at the majors in 2024. After a semifinal at the World Darts Championship, he made it to the last eight each time at the UK Open, World Matchplay and World Grand Prix.

It will be the 23rd time Wade and Cross have met in an official match. The score is 12-10 in favor of Wade, who has an even 4-1 lead over Cross in mutual duels on the ranking majors.

Last year's European Darts Championship was the only major major tournament in the fall where Luke Humphries did not stand with the cup in his hands. After winning the world title and titles at the World Cup of Darts and World Matchplay, 'Cool Hand Luke' in Dortmund will try to win another major to his name in 2024. Humphries' Euro Tour season was decent; with two titles and another final. Just last weekend, Humphries showed his top form by taking the title at the Czech Darts Open, the final Euro Tour event of the year.

Nathan Aspinall narrowly qualified for this tournament. Due to injury, 'The Asp' had to skip six tournaments, and at the tournaments he did play, it was not convincing. Only five times did Aspinall get through his first match, and the end result was only one quarterfinal. In the end, the 33-year-old Englishman finished 31st on the Euro Tour rankings.

Aspinall has a remarkably good record against his compatriot. The two-time major winner won seven of the previous 15 encounters, including three in 2024. Humphries, however, has already won five times from 'The Asp' this season and thus leads 8-7 in the head-to-head.