Luke Humphries will begin his defence of the Interwetten European Darts Grand Prix against Masters champion Chris Dobey or Graham Hall, with the draw and schedule for this weekend’s event now confirmed.
The ninth PDC European Tour event of 2023 will take place in Sindelfingen from May 26-28, as reigning champion Humphries bids to retain his title at the Glaspalast.
Humphries – a winner of four European Tour titles in 2022 – defeated Rob Cross in last year’s decider, and the pair face their own separate battle for World Cup of Darts qualification this weekend.
Cross boasts a £17,500 lead over Humphries on the PDC Order of Merit, meaning that Humphries must retain the title if he is to claim a spot for England alongside Michael Smith in next month’s Pairs event.
Humphries’ title rivals in Sindelfingen will include Dave Chisnall, who has defeated him in the finals of February’s Baltic Sea Darts Open and May’s Dutch Darts Championship this year.
Premier League table-topper Gerwyn Price makes his European Tour return this weekend, having missed out on the last four events following his back-to-back wins in Leverkusen and Riesa.
Friday’s first round – which will be broadcast through PDCTV, Viaplay and DAZN – will feature 16 matches across two sessions, as Germany’s number one Gabriel Clemens takes centre stage on home soil.
World Championship semi-finalist Clemens will begin his campaign against Lee Evans in Friday evening’s finale, with Nico Kurz making his European Tour return against former Grand Slam champion Jose de Sousa.
Ricardo Pietreczko will play Steve Beaton in another intriguing first round tie, with emerging youngster Liam Maendl-Lawrance pitted against five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld.
Ian White and Ricky Evans will collide in a repeat of the 2018 Dutch Darts Championship final, while a resurgent Daryl Gurney faces Irish newcomer Dylan Slevin.
Australia’s World Cup winner Simon Whitlock plays Josh Payne, Krzysztof Ratajski opens his challenge against Graham Usher, while Dutch duo Gian van Veen and Jermaine Wattimena lock horns in Friday afternoon’s opener.
The 16 seeded players enter the fray in Saturday’s second round, as Humphries kicks off his campaign alongside some of the sport’s top names.
Humphries will open his title defence with a potential tie against Premier League star Dobey – a late replacement for Ryan Joyce, who has withdrawn through illness – as fifth seed Price begins his bid for a third European Tour crown of 2023 against White or Evans.
Slevin and Gurney will battle it out for the right to play second seed Dirk van Duijvenbode, while Chisnall takes on home favourite Pascal Rupprecht or Christian Kist.
Meanwhile, 2022 runner-up Cross – a winner at Players Championship 11 last Saturday – will await the winner of the first round tie between Martijn Kleermaker and Alan Soutar.
Martin Schindler could take on Clemens in a blockbuster all-German second round showdown, as eighth seed Danny Noppert prepares to meet Van Veen or Wattimena in an all-Dutch affair.
Austrian Darts Open winner Jonny Clayton plays Ross Montgomery or Marko Kantele in his opener, with Nathan Aspinall up against De Sousa or Kurz for a place in Sunday’s third round.
Elsewhere, Josh Rock kicks off Saturday’s second round action against Keegan Brown or Swiss debutant Marcel Walpen, while UK Open champion Andrew Gilding takes on Maendl-Lawrance or Van Barneveld.
Following Saturday’s second round, the last 16 will take place on Sunday afternoon, before the tournament concludes with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in a bumper evening session.
Live coverage of all 2023 European Tour events will be streamed through Viaplay in the UK, the Netherlands, Poland and all Nordic & Baltic countries, and through DAZN for viewers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Coverage will also be shown on PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and through bookmakers’ worldwide.
NB: From the original field, Callan Rydz and Ryan Joyce have withdrawn and been replaced from the Reserve List by Krzysztof Ratajski and Chris Dobey.
2023 Interwetten European Darts Grand Prix
Tournament Draw Bracket – Second Round Onwards
(1) Luke Humphries v Graham Hall/Chris Dobey
(16) Andrew Gilding v Liam Maendl-Lawrance/Raymond van Barneveld
(8) Danny Noppert v Gian van Veen/Jermaine Wattimena
(9) Josh Rock v Keegan Brown/Marcel Walpen
(4) Damon Heta v Roman Benecky/Adam Smith-Neale
(13) Joe Cullen v Josh Payne/Simon Whitlock
(5) Gerwyn Price v Ian White/Ricky Evans
(12) Martin Schindler v Gabriel Clemens/Lee Evans
(2) Dirk van Duijvenbode v Dylan Slevin/Daryl Gurney
(15) Ross Smith v Steve Beaton/Ricardo Pietreczko
(7) Nathan Aspinall v Jose De Sousa/Nico Kurz
(10) Ryan Searle v Madars Razma/Ritchie Edhouse
(3) Dave Chisnall v Pascal Rupprecht/Christian Kist
(14) Dimitri Van den Bergh v Graham Usher/Krzysztof Ratajski
(6) Rob Cross v Martijn Kleermaker/Alan Soutar
(11) Jonny Clayton v Ross Montgomery/Marko Kantele
Schedule of Play
Friday May 26
First Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Gian van Veen v Jermaine Wattimena
Madars Razma v Ritchie Edhouse
Pascal Rupprecht v Christian Kist
Graham Usher v Krzysztof Ratajski
Ross Montgomery v Marko Kantele
Ian White v Ricky Evans
Keegan Brown v Marcel Walpen
Martijn Kleermaker v Alan Soutar
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Jose de Sousa v Nico Kurz
Roman Benecky v Adam Smith-Neale
Dylan Slevin v Daryl Gurney
Graham Hall v Chris Dobey
Steve Beaton v Ricardo Pietreczko
Liam Maendl-Lawrance v Raymond van Barneveld
Josh Payne v Simon Whitlock
Gabriel Clemens v Lee Evans
Saturday May 27
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Josh Rock v K Brown/Walpen
Dave Chisnall v Rupprecht/Kist
Ross Smith v Beaton/Pietreczko
Ryan Searle v Razma/Edhouse
Rob Cross v Kleermaker/Soutar
Danny Noppert v Van Veen/Wattimena
Damon Heta v Benecky/Smith-Neale
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Slevin/Gurney
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Andrew Gilding v Maendl-Lawrance/Van Barneveld
Nathan Aspinall v De Sousa/Kurz
Luke Humphries v Hall/Dobey
Gerwyn Price v White/Evans
Joe Cullen v Payne/Whitlock
Martin Schindler v Clemens/Evans
Jonny Clayton v Montgomery/Kantele
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Usher/Ratajski
Sunday May 28
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Third Round
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Sunday’s games played in Draw Bracket order
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
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