European Darts Championship 2025 Draw | Littler to face Van Barneveld as Price handed Gurney rematch
The draw for the 2025 European Darts Championship has been confirmed following the conclusion of the European Tour campaign.
The top 32 players from the 2025 European Order of Merit will battle it out in the £600,000 ranked major in Dortmund from October 23-26.
With 2024 champion Ritchie Edhouse having failed to qualify, this year’s European Championship will be the first not to feature a defending champion.
Nathan Aspinall, who clinched his third European Tour title of the season at the German Darts Championship on Sunday, is the number one seed and will take on two-time champion Rob Cross in the opening round.
Gerwyn Price, the 2019 runner-up, faces a grudge clash with World Cup of Darts winner Daryl Gurney in a repeat of their ill-tempered encounter at the World Matchplay in July.
Luke Littler, winner of four major titles this year, is the fourth seed and will begin his bid for a maiden European Championship title with a tie against his darting idol Raymond van Barneveld.
World number one Luke Humphries has been pitted against Polish number one Krzysztof Ratajski, a semi-finalist in the recent German Darts Championship.
Four-time champion Michael van Gerwen faces an all-Dutch showdown with ProTour event winner Wessel Nijman in another stand-out tie.
James Wade, the 2018 European Champion, will take on 2024 World Grand Prix winner Mike De Decker, while German number one Martin Schindler faces Dave Chisnall – who sealed his qualification with a run to the quarter-finals in Hildesheim.
Stephen Bunting – a winner of two European Tour titles this year – meets world number eight Chris Dobey, as Dutch Championship winner Jonny Clayton comes up against Ryan Searle.
Josh Rock – a two-time finalist on the European Tour this year – meets German number two Ricardo Pietreczko, while debutant Niko Springer locks horns with 2024 runner-up Jermaine Wattimena.
World Youth Champion Gian van Veen and Australian number one Damon Heta collide, while Ross Smith and Peter Wright also go head-to-head in a battle of the former European Champions.
Gary Anderson, runner-up a decade ago, faces an all-Scottish showdown with Cameron Menzies, while last year’s semi-finalist Luke Woodhouse meets Ryan Joyce and Sunday’s German Championship runner-up Dirk van Duijvenbode takes on his former World Cup partner Danny Noppert.
The schedule of play will be confirmed in due course.
European Darts Championship 2025 Draw
First Round
Nathan Aspinall (1) v Rob Cross (32)
Dirk van Duijvenbode (16) v Danny Noppert (17)
Josh Rock (8) v Ricardo Pietreczko (25)
Niko Springer (9) v Jermaine Wattimena (24)
Luke Littler (4) v Raymond van Barneveld (29)
James Wade (13) v Mike De Decker (20)
Luke Humphries (5) v Krzysztof Ratajski (28)
Gary Anderson (12) v Cameron Menzies (21)
Martin Schindler (2) v Dave Chisnall (31)
Ryan Joyce (15) v Luke Woodhouse (18)
Jonny Clayton (7) v Ryan Searle (26)
Gian van Veen (10) v Damon Heta (23)
Stephen Bunting (3) v Chris Dobey (30)
Wessel Nijman (14) v Michael van Gerwen (19)
Gerwyn Price (6) v Daryl Gurney (27)
Ross Smith (11) v Peter Wright (22)
