World number five James Wade will take on Justin Pipe in a battle of former European Tour winners in the first round of the HappyBet European Darts Open tomorrow night.
The draw and schedule of play for this year’s eighth European Tour event was confirmed this afternoon, with the first round taking place across two sessions at the Ostermann Arena in Leverkusen on Friday.
The 48-player field will be completed this evening with eight players to come from the European Qualifiers and five from the Host Nation Qualifiers, with tomorrow seeing the 32 qualifiers competing to win matches against seeded players, including Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright, in the second round on Saturday.
Two former winners on the European Tour, Wade and Pipe, will meet in the opening game of the evening session tomorrow, while another ex-champion on the circuit, Mervyn King, goes up against Finland’s Kim Viljanen, who dumped out Wright on his way to reaching the quarter-finals in last week’s Austrian Darts Open.
Recent World Cup of Darts finalist Mark Webster has been drawn against James Richardson, while former European Tour runner-up John Henderson clashes with Northern Ireland’s Ray Campbell.
Two of 2017’s emerging stars, Peter Jacques and Richard North, take on Australia’s Kyle Anderson and South Africa’s Devon Petersen, while former PDC World Youth Championship finalist Nathan Aspinall meets former UK Open runner-up Mark Walsh.
For the second event running, Adrian Lewis has withdrawn from the field for health reasons, and he will be replaced in the draw by a fifth Host Nation Qualifer.
HappyBet European Darts Open
Tournament Draw Bracket
Mensur Suljovic (3) v EQ8/EQ3
Joe Cullen (14) v Krzysztof Ratajski/Mark Barilli
Kim Huybrechts (6) v John Henderson/Ray Campbell
Alan Norris (11) v Aden Kirk/EQ5
Benito van de Pas (7) v James Richardson/Mark Webster
Dave Chisnall (10) v Justin Pipe/James Wade
Peter Wright (2) v Robbie Green/HNQ2
Stephen Bunting (15) v HNQ4/EQ1
Simon Whitlock (4) v EQ2/Matt Clark
Gerwyn Price (13) v Mark Walsh/Nathan Aspinall
Michael Smith (5) v Kyle Anderson/Peter Jacques
Daryl Gurney (12) v EQ4/HNQ3
Jelle Klaasen (8) v Richard North/Devon Petersen
Ian White (9) v Mervyn King/Kim Viljanen
Michael van Gerwen (1) v EQ7/EQ6
Rob Cross (16) v HNQ5/HNQ1
Schedule of Play
Friday June 30
First Round
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Mark Walsh v Nathan Aspinall
James Richardson v Mark Webster
John Henderson v Ray Campbell
Krzysztof Ratajski v Mark Barilli
Host Nation Qualifier 4 v European Qualifier 1
Aden Kirk v European Qualifier 5
Robbie Green v Host Nation Qualifier 2
European Qualifier 2 v Matt Clark
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Justin Pipe v James Wade
European Qualifier 4 v Host Nation Qualifier 3
European Qualifier 8 v European Qualifier 3
Kyle Anderson v Peter Jacques
Mervyn King v Kim Viljanen
European Qualifier 7 v European Qualifier 6
Host Nation Qualifier 5 v Host Nation Qualifier 1
Richard North v Devon Petersen
Saturday July 1
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Daryl Gurney v EQ4/HNQ3
Gerwyn Price v Mark Walsh/Nathan Aspinall
Alan Norris v Aden Kirk/EQ5
Joe Cullen v Krzysztof Ratajski/Mark Barilli
Benito van de Pas v James Richardson/Mark Webster
Kim Huybrechts v John Henderson/Ray Campbell
Simon Whitlock v EQ2/Matt Clark
Stephen Bunting v HNQ4/EQ1
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Dave Chisnall v Justin Pipe/James Wade
Michael Smith v Kyle Anderson/Peter Jacques
Ian White v Mervyn King/Kim Viljanen
Mensur Suljovic v EQ8/EQ3
Peter Wright v Robbie Green/HNQ2
Michael van Gerwen v EQ7/EQ6
Jelle Klaasen v Richard North/Devon Petersen
Rob Cross v HNQ5/HNQ1
Sunday July 2
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Third Round
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Sunday’s games played in Draw Bracket order. All games are the best of 11 legs.
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