European Championship 2025: Where, When and Who!
Dortmund? More like Dart-mund… OK, sorry about the pun. But we make no apologies for getting excited about this year’s European Championship, as top-class darts heads to the continent for the final time this season.
In this article, we’ll look at the history of this famous competition – one of the final majors of the season – before offering our expert predictions and darts tips. In a rush? Scroll to the bottom for DartsTips.com’s full World Grand Prix predictions. If not, read on!
What is the European Championship?
The European Championship was introduced into the darts schedule in 2008 and is classed as one of the majors on the PDC tour, and it’s the only one held outside the UK.
The best 32 players from the season line up against each other, following a classic seeding set-up. Number 1 plays number 32, number 2 plays 31, and so on. From a best-of-11 Round 1, the match length gradually increases with a best-of-21 final.
The seeding system (obviously) favours the top players but anything can happen on the night… and it so often does!
History of the European Championship
European Championship: The Early Years
The inaugural European Championship took place in 2008, in its current homeland of Germany. The first edition took place in Frankfurt and has been taken around the continent since, including the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria.
However it returned in 2022, only this time to Dortmund’s Westfalenhallen – an indoor arena next to the home of European football giants Borussia Dortmund. Tens of thousands of fans will make their way through the gates… will we see another major shock?
European Championship: The Champions
As with many PDC events at the time, Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor dominated in the early years. Taylor won the first four titles, including two wins against his protégé Adrian Lewis. Jackpot, as he was nicknamed, won one himself before Michael van Gerwen took the reins.
MVG followed in Taylor’s footsteps, winning four in a row between 2014 and 2017, but don’t be fooled into thinking this tournament is predictable. Ritchie Edhouse was a 250-1 outsider going into last year’s tournament before a shock victory against Jermaine Wattimena – yet another unlikely finalist.
Rob Cross and Peter Wright are the only other multiple champions in the tournament’s history, and there’s every chance they could add to their trophy cabinet this time around.
World Grand Prix Finals: Last 10 Winners
- 2015: Michael van Gerwen 11-10 Gary Anderson (Hasselt, Belgium)
- 2016: Michael van Gerwen 11-1 Mensur Suljovic (Hasselt)
- 2017: Michael van Gerwen 11-7 Rob Cross (Hasselt)
- 2018: James Wade 11-8 Simon Whitlock (Dortmund, Germany)
- 2019: Rob Cross 11-6 Gerwyn Price (Gottingen, Belgium)
- 2020: Peter Wright 11-4 James Wade (Oberhausen, Belgium)
- 2021: Rob Cross 11-8 Michael van Gerwen (Salzburg, Austria)
- 2022: Ross Smith 11-8 Michael Smith (Dortmund)
- 2023: Peter Wright 11-6 James Wade (Dortmund)
- 2024: Ritchie Edhouse 11-3 Jermaine Wattimena (Dortmund)
European Championship 2025: Qualifying
PDC Top Seeds and Automatic Qualification
It doesn’t get any simpler than this! Prior to the European Championship, the PDC Order of Merit is frozen – which simply means the top 32 players over the past year will compete for the honour.
Luke Littler will of course be the headline act, looking to add a new trophy to his already-stacked mantelpiece, but faces some tough competition – including four-time champion Michael van Gerwen.
MVG is seeking to lift the trophy for a fifth time, which would put him above Phil Taylor and land him, and him alone, in the history books. Several former champions will be back too, all bidding for a repeat and to build some momentum ahead of the PDC Worlds.
COMING SOON: DartsTips.com’s World Grand Prix 2025 predictions
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