Peter Wright will begin his defence of the Interwetten German Darts Open against either Darius Labanauskas or Cameron Menzies, with the draw and schedule for this weekend’s PDC European Tour event confirmed.
Following a two-month summer hiatus, the European Tour returns at the Sparkassen-Arena in Jena, as 48 players battle it out in the £175,000 event from September 8-10.
Wright – a two-time German Darts Open winner – lifted his eighth European Tour title in May’s Czech Darts Open, and will arrive in Jena as the number eight seed.
The two-time World Champion will be among the headline acts this weekend, alongside top seed Dave Chisnall and Luke Humphries – a winner of five European Tour titles since the start of 2022.
Friday’s first round – which will be broadcast through PDCTV, Viaplay and DAZN – will feature 16 matches across two sessions, as German number one Gabriel Clemens stars on home soil.
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World Championship semi-finalist Clemens begins his campaign against Luke Woodhouse, while home favourite Florian Hempel will take on ten-time TV title winner James Wade on Friday evening.
Elsewhere, Ricardo Pietreczko will play his fellow countryman Daniel Klose in an all-German affair, as the latter aims to build on his run to Tuesday’s Players Championship 21 decider.
Host Nation Qualifier Nico Kurz faces Belgium’s Brian Raman, while Australian stalwart Simon Whitlock takes on exciting talent Gian van Veen in arguably the tie of the first round.
Scotland’s Alan Soutar has been drawn against Ricky Evans in another intriguing clash, while a resurgent Daryl Gurney will lock horns with Ireland’s former World Cup finalist Steve Lennon.
The 16 seeded players enter the fray in Saturday’s second round, as reigning champion Wright kicks off his title defence with a tussle against Labanauskas or compatriot Menzies.
Chisnall will begin his bid for a third European Tour title of 2023 against Clemens or Woodhouse, with Humphries pitted against Klose or Pietreczko.
Second seed Damon Heta will face Hempel or Wade in his opener, while Dirk van Duijvenbode will meet fellow Dutchman Roy van de Griendt or German debutant Danny Tessmann.
World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall takes on either Whitlock or Van Veen in a blockbuster tussle, as fifth seed Josh Rock prepares to meet Connor Scutt or in-form American Jules van Dongen.
German number two Martin Schindler will take centre stage against Gurney or Lennon on Saturday evening, before European Champion Ross Smith plays Wesley Plaisier or George Killington.
European Darts Grand Prix winner Rob Cross opens his challenge against Raman or Kurz, as seventh seed Joe Cullen looks ahead to a tie against Stephen Bunting or Mickey Mansell.
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.
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Images: PDC
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