GIAN van Veen will open the defence of his Machineseeker European Championship crown against Andrew Gilding on Thursday in Dortmund. The Dutch darts number one arrives in Germany in fine form after posting a new record average on the European Tour over the weekend.
Van Veen holds special affection for the Westfalenhallen venue, having claimed his first major title there 12 months ago before going on to reach the World Championship final in January.
MORE ELITE DARTS COVERAGE: Check Out Our Devoted PDC Area
The 24-year-old has enjoyed a strong European Tour campaign, reaching the final of the season’s opening event in Poland and following that with three successive semi-final appearances.
The 32-player field was finalised after Niels Zonneveld claimed his maiden European Tour title at the Dutch Darts Championship on Sunday 18 October. Seedings are based on the one-year European Tour Order of Merit.
Zonneveld’s triumph earns him the fourth seed and a first-round clash with Cameron Menzies. World Champion Luke Littler, who won two of the three European Tour events he contested this year, faces Ireland’s William O’Connor. World number two and last year’s runner-up Luke Humphries is the 12th seed and meets Ryan Searle.
Ross Smith heads the seedings after collecting two European Tour titles in 2026 and will take on Karel Sedláček. Wessel Nijman, also a two-time winner on the circuit this season, is second seed and faces Germany’s Martin Schindler.
Other standout first-round ties include 2019 runner-up Gerwyn Price against two-time champion Rob Cross, Kevin Doets versus four-time winner Michael van Gerwen, and 2018 champion James Wade against Damon Heta.
INTERESTED IN GLOBAL DARTS? Checkout DartsWorld’s Dedicated Area
Action gets under way at Dortmund’s Westfalenhallen on Thursday 22 October, with the final scheduled for Sunday 25 October and a top prize of £150,000 on offer.
The full draw is detailed below, with the playing schedule to be confirmed shortly.
2026 Machineseeker European Darts Championship
Draw Bracket
(1) Ross Smith v (32) Karel Sedlacek
(16) James Wade v (17) Damon Heta
(8) Gian van Veen v (25) Andrew Gilding
(9) Luke Woodhouse v (24) Dirk van Duijvenbode
(4) Niels Zonneveld v (29) Cameron Menzies
(13) Gerwyn Price v (20) Rob Cross
(5) Danny Noppert v (28) Stephen Bunting
(12) Luke Humphries v (21) Ryan Searle
(2) Wessel Nijman v (31) Martin Schindler
(15) Ryan Joyce v (18) Jermaine Wattimena
(7) Jonny Clayton v (26) Niko Springer
(10) Josh Rock v (23) Chris Dobey
(3) Krzysztof Ratajski v (30) Dave Chisnall
(14) Kevin Doets v (19) Michael van Gerwen
(6) Nathan Aspinall v (27) Cristo Reyes
(11) Luke Littler v (22) William O’Connor
DARTS PLAYER MERCHANDISE AND COLLECTABLES AT OUR DARTSWORLD STORE!
Images: PDC
