Luke Humphries will begin his defence of the Interwetten European Darts Matchplay against Liam Maendl-Lawrance or Marko Kantele, with the draw and schedule for this weekend’s event confirmed.
The year’s tenth PDC European Tour event will take place at Arena Trier from June 30-July 2, as 48 players battle it out for the £30,000 top prize in the final event before the qualification cut-off for July’s Betfred World Matchplay.
Humphries – a winner of four European Tour titles in 2022 – has reached a further four finals so far in 2023 without yet adding to that haul, and the former World Youth Champion will arrive in Trier as the number one seed.
Michael van Gerwen returns to the big stage after recovering from pre-planned dental surgery earlier this month, while world number one Michael Smith will also headline this weekend’s action.
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 stars on home soil.
World Championship semi-finalist Clemens – who helped steer Germany to the World Cup of Darts semi-finals a fortnight ago alongside Martin Schindler – will kick off his campaign with an intriguing clash against Jose de Sousa.
Fellow countryman Ricardo Pietreczko will continue his bid for World Matchplay qualification against Fabian Herz in an all-German affair, while Maendl-Lawrance plays Finnish veteran Kantele in his opener.
Kim Huybrechts and Brendan Dolan currently occupy the final two places in this year’s provisional World Matchplay field, and they have been pitted against Keane Barry and Connor Scutt in their respective first round ties.
William O’Connor – currently £2,000 adrift of qualification – faces ten-time TV title winner James Wade, while Simon Whitlock meets James Wilson as he aims to preserve his hopes of a Blackpool return.
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.
Van Gerwen could take on his compatriot Raymond van Barneveld in a blockbuster second round tussle, with the five-time World Champion up against George Killington in Friday’s first round.
Second seed Dirk van Duijvenbode will open his challenge against UK Open champion Andrew Gilding or Darryl Pilgrim, with Dave Chisnall kicking off his bid for a third European Tour title of 2023 against Ryan Joyce or Ted Evetts.
Damon Heta will play the winner of the all-Dutch clash between Gian van Veen and Christian Kist, while fifth seed Rob Cross begins his bid for back-to-back European Tour titles against Mickey Mansell or Matt Campbell.
World Champion Smith has been drawn against Huybrechts or Barry, and Whitlock and Wilson will compete for the right to play former UK Open champion Danny Noppert for a place in round three.
World Youth Champion Josh Rock could meet his compatriot Dolan in round two, while Schindler will take on Stephen Burton or Callan Rydz in front of a partisan home crowd on Saturday night.
Elsewhere, Austrian Darts Open winner Jonny Clayton faces a tough test against either O’Connor or Wade, while European Champion Ross Smith meets Luke Woodhouse or Stephen Bunting.
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, Gerwyn Price and Jim Williams have withdrawn and been replaced from the Reserve List by Andrew Gilding and Callan Rydz.
2023 Interwetten European Darts Matchplay:
Tournament Draw Bracket – Second Round Onwards
(6) Michael van Gerwen v George Killington/Raymond van Barneveld
(11) Ryan Searle v Jose de Sousa/Gabriel Clemens
(3) Dave Chisnall v Ryan Joyce/Ted Evetts
(14) Joe Cullen v Daniel Klose/Vitezslav Sedlak
(7) Michael Smith v Kim Huybrechts/Keane Barry
(10) Josh Rock v Connor Scutt/Brendan Dolan
(2) Dirk van Duijvenbode v Darryl Pilgrim/Andrew Gilding
(15) Dimitri Van den Bergh v Fabian Herz/Ricardo Pietreczko
(5) Rob Cross v Mickey Mansell/Matt Campbell
(12) Jonny Clayton v William O’Connor/James Wade
(4) Damon Heta v Gian van Veen/Christian Kist
(13) Martin Schindler v Stephen Burton/Callan Rydz
(8) Nathan Aspinall v Graham Hall/Martin Lukeman
(9) Danny Noppert v Simon Whitlock/James Wilson
(1) Luke Humphries v Liam Maendl-Lawrance/Marko Kantele
(16) Ross Smith v Luke Woodhouse/Stephen Bunting
Schedule of Play
Friday June 30
First Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Ryan Joyce v Ted Evetts
Daniel Klose v Vitezslav Sedlak
Gian van Veen v Christian Kist
Graham Hall v Martin Lukeman
Connor Scutt v Brendan Dolan
Darryl Pilgrim v Andrew Gilding
Mickey Mansell v Matt Campbell
Stephen Burton v Callan Rydz
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Liam Maendl-Lawrance v Marko Kantele
Fabian Herz v Ricardo Pietreczko
Kim Huybrechts v Keane Barry
William O’Connor v James Wade
George Killington v Raymond van Barneveld
Jose de Sousa v Gabriel Clemens
Simon Whitlock v James Wilson
Luke Woodhouse v Stephen Bunting
Saturday July 1
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Dave Chisnall v Joyce/Evetts
Josh Rock v Scutt/Dolan
Rob Cross v Mansell/Campbell
Damon Heta v Van Veen/Kist
Nathan Aspinall v Hall/Lukeman
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Pilgrim/Gilding
Joe Cullen v Klose/Sedlak
Ross Smith v Woodhouse/Bunting
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Jonny Clayton v O’Connor/Wade
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Herz/Pietreczko
Ryan Searle v De Sousa/Clemens
Michael van Gerwen v Killington/Van Barneveld
Michael Smith v Huybrechts/Barry
Luke Humphries v Maendl-Lawrance/Kantele
Martin Schindler v Burton/Rydz
Danny Noppert v Whitlock/Wilson
Sunday July 2
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 Europe
Grab a copy of the 50th Anniversary Darts World 581 here or the new Issue 583 here :
The Darts World 50 limited edition dart set is available to order (Here) in your choice of pack/bundle.
Also Available Free: Darts World Extra 9 – Gezzy Nice
Darts World Magazine‘s fantastic value bundles:
Subscribe or purchase your copy
