Gian van Veen will start his title defence at the 2026 Machineseeker European Championship against Andrew Gilding on Thursday in Dortmund. Dutch number one Van Veen – who set a new record average on the European Tour this weekend – has fond memories of Dortmund as he secured his maiden Premier title 12 months ago […]
Gian van Veen will start his title defence at the 2026 Machineseeker European Championship against Andrew Gilding on Thursday in Dortmund.
Dutch number one Van Veen – who set a new record average on the European Tour this weekend – has fond memories of Dortmund as he secured his maiden Premier title 12 months ago before his incredible run to the World Championship final in January.
The 24-year-old has enjoyed a successful year on the European Tour, making the final of the season opener in Poland as well as three consecutive semi-final runs in the last three events.
Following the conclusion the Dutch Darts Championship on Sunday October 18, which saw Niels Zonneveld secure his first ever European Tour title, the 32-player field for the European Championship was confirmed, with seedings based on the one-year European Tour rankings.
That victory means Zonneveld will now start his hunt for a Premier title as fourth seed and will take on Cameron Menzies.
World Champion Luke Littler, who won two of the three European Tour events he played in this year, will start his campaign against Ireland’s William O’Connor.
World number two and last year’s runner-up Luke Humphries kicks off his campaign as the 12th seed and will face Ryan Searle.
Ross Smith – a winner of two European Tour titles this year – enters as the top seed and will take on Karel Sedlacek.
Wessel Nijman will compete as second seed after also boasting two titles on the circuit this year and he will meet Germany’s Martin Schindler.
Other notable games include 2019 runner-up Gerwyn Price versus two-time champion Rob Cross, Kevin Doets against four-time champion Michael van Gerwen and 2018 winner James Wade against Damon Heta.
The action gets underway at Dortmund’s Westfalenhallen on Thursday October 22, with a top prize of £150,000 up for grabs on Sunday October 25.
The full draw bracket can be found below, with the schedule to follow.
The Machineseeker European Championship will be broadcast live on ITV in the UK, through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding subscribers based in the UK, Germany, Austria & Switzerland).
2026 Machineseeker European 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
