European Championship Darts 2026: Van Veen, Price v Cross

The European Championship darts 2026 starts on Thursday, October 22nd at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, with defending champion Gian van Veen playing Andrew Gilding and Gerwyn Price facing Rob Cross at roughly 19:45 BST. The tournament closes the 2026 European Tour and finishes on Sunday, October 25th, with £150,000 going to the winner from a £750,000 prize fund.

For me, Price v Cross is the tie of the day. Price has reached the final of the Matchplay, the World Series Finals and the Grand Prix, yet still hasn’t won a ranking title on the major stage since the 2021 Grand Slam. Cross has a Players Championship title from June and a European Tour final behind him, but needs a deep run. The winner goes into the last 16, as Darts World highlighted.

Darts European Championship Dortmund: Format, Field And Prize Money

The 32 best-performing players on the European Tour have qualified, and 13 of them are English, the most of any nation. Ross Smith is the first seed and Dave Chisnall the 30th. The first round is first to six, the same length as every European Tour match except the semi-finals and final, and the event is played in front of 15,000 fans.

Smith is the man to catch on the Tour. He is the first seed for the first time in his career, won in Riesa and Budapest, and went 31-13 across all 15 events. He opens against the 32nd seed, Sedlacek.

Luke Humphries lost last year’s final to Van Veen. You can see the full European Championship payouts and the TV guide, draw and start times on dave.sport.

Van Veen European Championship Defence: Can He Beat The Curse?

Van Veen, 24, takes on Gilding in the penultimate game of the night. He arrives as world number three and eighth seed. He beat Michael van Gerwen in the semi-finals and Humphries in a deciding-leg final here last year, which gave him his first major individual PDC title.

The history is against him. No defending champion has won a match at the European Championship since 2018. Only Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen have retained the title.

“I think it will be very special to be back in Dortmund after last year,” Van Veen told pdc.tv ahead of the defence.

His 2026 has been uneven. He had kidney stone surgery in March, midway through his first Premier League season, and lost his opening match at three European Tour events in a row. Since then he has reached the World Matchplay semi-finals and the World Grand Prix quarter-finals, plus three European Tour semi-finals in the past month. Last weekend in Maastricht he beat Sebastian Bialecki 6-0 with a record 120.24 average, the highest on the European Tour.

Van Veen v Gilding	Van Veen	Gilding
Seed	8th	25th
Major title	2025 European Championship	2023 UK Open
European Tour record	Three semi-finals in the past month	16-14 (legs 143-139)
12-month average	–	92.68

Price Darts European Championship: Price v Cross Head-To-Head

Price leads Cross 19-14 overall. In Premier Events, excluding the Premier League, he leads 5-1, although they have met only once at that level since 2020. That was the Matchplay Last 16 this year, which Price won 11-5.

Price v Cross	Result
Overall head-to-head	Price leads 19-14
Premier Events (excl. Premier League)	Price leads 5-1
Latest meeting: 2026 Matchplay, Last 16	Price 11-5
2019 European Championship final	Cross 11-6

Cross has the better memory of this event, because the 2019 final was the first of his two European titles. His Premier Event form is the worry. His UK Open quarter-final this year is the only time he has reached that stage at that level in almost two years.

World Darts Championship: Why Dortmund Matters

The Grand Slam, the Players Championship Finals and the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace all follow Dortmund. The title has been unpredictable, with three of the last four winners taking their first Premier Event: Ross Smith, Ritchie Edhouse and Van Veen.

Van Veen has already looked ahead. He named the Grand Slam, the Players Championship Finals and the World Championship as the next targets, and the Alexandra Palace run to last January’s final is the highlight of his career so far. Keep up with the rest of the run-in on our PDC majors page.

Jack’s Verdict

I think Van Veen ends the curse and wins at least one match this week. A 120.24 average, three European Tour semi-finals in a month and a final win over Humphries in this same hall are a strong case for a defending champion. Gilding is a UK Open winner, and a European Tour record of 16-14 shows he isn’t a pushover, so I wouldn’t call it easy. I’d also back Price to get past Cross on the head-to-head, though Cross knows how to win in Dortmund. The best outcome for the sport is a Van Veen v Price final on Sunday, October 25th: a third successful title defence against a man chasing his first major ranking title since 2021.

Your questions answered

When is the European Championship darts 2026 final?

The final is on Sunday, October 25th at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund. The tournament starts on Thursday, October 22nd, with a 32-player field. The first round is first to six, and matches get longer as the event goes on. Van Veen has said he hopes to take the trophy home again on Sunday evening.

What time is Price v Cross?

Gerwyn Price v Rob Cross is the fourth game of Thursday night, at roughly 19:45 BST. The winner books a place in the last 16. Price leads the head-to-head 19-14, though Cross won the 2019 European Championship final 11-6. Check our darts on TV today page for broadcast details.

Has a defending champion won at the European Championship recently?

No. No defending champion has won a single match at the European Championship since 2018. Van Veen starts against Andrew Gilding on Thursday, October 22nd, in the penultimate game of the night. Only Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen have won the title in consecutive years.

How much does the European Championship winner get?

The winner receives £150,000 from a £750,000 prize fund. The 32 best-performing players on the 2026 European Tour qualified, and 13 of them are English. The event is played in front of 15,000 fans at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, and it closes the European Tour season.

Follow Nine Dart News on X and Facebook for every darts result.