MICHAEL VAN GERWEN will begin his defence of the Unibet European Championship title against Simon Whitlock when the £400,000 event begins on October 28, while World Champion Gary Anderson has drawn James Wade in the first round in Belgium.
Van Gerwen has won back-to-back European Championship titles with his successes over the past two years, overcoming Anderson in a thrilling final at the Ethias Arena in Hasselt 12 months ago.
The world number one enters this year's remodelled event as the number one seed, with the qualifiers based on performances across the ten PDC European Tour events held in 2016 - of which the Dutchman won six.
Van Gerwen will begin his bid to complete a hat-trick of European Championship wins against 2012 champion Simon Whitlock, who has enjoyed a resurgence in form recently.
Four-time European Champion Phil Taylor - who won this year's Austrian Darts Open in Vienna - has drawn Alan Norris, who claimed the seventh seeding position by virtue of Sunday's triumph in the German Darts Championship.
James Wade, who won the European Darts Matchplay in May and claimed the fourth seeding spot, drew World Champion Anderson in a tasty first round fixture.
Mensur Suljovic, the year's other European Tour winner, will play Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena, while number three seed Peter Wright drew Justin Pipe.
Belgium's Kim Huybrechts, seeded fifth, will play James Wilson, with number six seed Dave Chisnall up against Australia's Kyle Anderson and Jelle Klaasen - Sunday's runner-up to Norris who is now seeded eighth in Hasselt - up against Steve West.
2014 European Championship finalist Terry Jenkins meets Ian White, former World Youth Champion Max Hopp drew emerging Dutchman Benito van de Pas and Spain's Cristo Reyes takes on former World Grand Prix champion Robert Thornton.
St Helens pair Michael Smith and Stephen Bunting will face off, Northern Ireland's Daryl Gurney drew Welshman Gerwyn Price and Mervyn King meets South Africa's Devon Petersen.
Jamie Caven, who held on to the last qualifying place for the tournament, will play European Championship debutant James Richardson, while exciting youngsters Chris Dobey and Joe Cullen also meet.
The tournament begins on Friday October 28, with the first round begin split across two sessions in Hasselt, live on ITV4.
The second round will take place on Saturday October 29 before the event concludes with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final on Sunday October 30.
Tickets for the Unibet European Championship can be purchased from www.pdc-europe.tv .
The Unibet European Championship draw was made by Paul Nicholson following the conclusion of the German Darts Championship in Hildesheim on Sunday evening.
2016 Unibet European Championship
First Round Draw & Tournament Bracket
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Simon Whitlock
Daryl Gurney v Gerwyn Price
Jelle Klaasen (8) v Steve West
Michael Smith v Stephen Bunting
Kim Huybrechts (5) v James Wilson
Mervyn King v Devon Petersen
James Wade (4) v Gary Anderson
Max Hopp v Benito van de Pas
Mensur Suljovic (2) v Jermaine Wattimena
Ian White v Terry Jenkins
Alan Norris (7) v Phil Taylor
Chris Dobey v Joe Cullen
Dave Chisnall (6) v Kyle Anderson
Jamie Caven v James Richardson
Peter Wright (3) v Justin Pipe
Cristo Reyes v Robert Thornton
The schedule of play will be announced in due course.
Session Schedule
Friday October 28
Afternoon Session (1.45pm-6pm local time, 12.45pm-5pm UK time)
First Round x8
Evening Session (8pm-12am local time, 7pm-11pm UK time)
First Round x8
Saturday October 29
Afternoon Session (1.45pm-6pm local time, 12.45pm-5pm UK time)
Second Round x4
Evening Session (8pm-12am local time, 7pm-11pm UK time)
Second Round x4
Sunday October 30
Afternoon Session (1.45pm-6pm local time, 12.45pm-5pm UK time)
Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (8pm-12am local time, 7pm-11pm UK time)
Semi-Finals
Final
Prize Fund
Winner £100,000
Runner-Up £40,000
Semi-Finalists £20,000
Quarter-Finalists £15,000
Second Round Losers £10,000
First Round Losers £5,000
Total £400,000
Final 2016 European Tour Order of Merit
|
1 |
Gerwen, Michael van |
£160,500 |
|
2 |
Suljovic, Mensur |
£60,500 |
|
3 |
Wright, Peter |
£51,500 |
|
4 |
Wade, James |
£41,000 |
|
5 |
Huybrechts, Kim |
£38,500 |
|
6 |
Chisnall, Dave |
£38,000 |
|
7 |
Norris, Alan |
£37,500 |
|
8 |
Klaasen, Jelle |
£31,500 |
|
8 |
Smith, Michael |
£31,500 |
|
10 |
Pas, Benito van de |
£26,500 |
|
11 |
Taylor, Phil |
£25,000 |
|
12 |
Jenkins, Terry |
£23,000 |
|
12 |
White, Ian |
£23,000 |
|
14 |
Bunting, Stephen |
£21,000 |
|
15 |
Gurney, Daryl |
£20,500 |
|
16 |
Whitlock, Simon |
£18,500 |
|
17 |
Price, Gerwyn |
£16,500 |
|
17 |
Cullen, Joe |
£16,500 |
|
19 |
Anderson, Gary |
£14,000 |
|
20 |
Anderson, Kyle |
£12,000 |
|
20 |
Thornton, Robert |
£12,000 |
|
22 |
King, Mervyn |
£11,500 |
|
23 |
West, Steve |
£10,500 |
|
24 |
Wilson, James |
£10,000 |
|
24 |
Wattimena, Jermaine |
£10,000 |
|
24 |
Petersen, Devon |
£10,000 |
|
24 |
Hopp, Max |
£10,000 |
|
28 |
Reyes, Cristo |
£9,500 |
|
28 |
Pipe, Justin |
£9,500 |
|
30 |
Dobey, Chris |
£9,000 |
|
30 |
Richardson, James |
£9,000 |
|
32 |
Caven, Jamie |
£8,500 |
|
33 |
Green, Robbie |
£8,000 |
|
33 |
Painter, Kevin |
£8,000 |
|
35 |
Dolan, Brendan |
£7,500 |
|
35 |
Lewis, Adrian |
£7,500 |
|
37 |
Boulton, Andy |
£7,000 |
|
37 |
Rodriguez, Rowby-John |
£7,000 |
|
39 |
Clayton, Jonny |
£6,500 |
|
39 |
Bergh, Dimitri Van Den |
£6,500 |
|
41 |
Webster, Mark |
£6,000 |
|
41 |
Murnan, Joe |
£6,000 |
|
41 |
Beaton, Steve |
£6,000 |
|
41 |
Henderson, John |
£6,000 |
|
45 |
Webster, Darren |
£5,500 |
|
45 |
Voort, Vincent van der |
£5,500 |
|
45 |
Kist, Christian |
£5,500 |
|
45 |
Graaf, Jeffrey de |
£5,500 |
|
49 |
Barneveld, Raymond van |
£5,000 |
|
49 |
Huybrechts, Ronny |
£5,000 |
|
49 |
Schindler, Martin |
£5,000 |
|
49 |
Frost, Mark |
£5,000 |
|
49 |
Meulenkamp, Ron |
£5,000 |
|
54 |
Horvat, Dragutin |
£4,500 |
|
54 |
Meeuwisse, Yordi |
£4,500 |
|
54 |
Edhouse, Ritchie |
£4,500 |
|
57 |
Pallett, David |
£4,000 |
|
57 |
Payne, Josh |
£4,000 |
|
57 |
Lerchbacher, Zoran |
£4,000 |
|
57 |
Eidams, Rene |
£4,000 |
|
61 |
Evans, Ricky |
£3,500 |
|
61 |
Johnson, Darren |
£3,500 |
|
61 |
Walsh, Mark |
£3,500 |
|
61 |
Lewis, Jamie |
£3,500 |
|
61 |
Michael, John |
£3,500 |
|
61 |
Heydon, Nigel |
£3,500 |
|
61 |
Parody, Dyson |
£3,500 |
|
68 |
Smith, Andy |
£3,000 |
|
68 |
Jenkins, Andy |
£3,000 |
|
68 |
Hamilton, Andy |
£3,000 |
|
68 |
Herz, Fabian |
£3,000 |
|
68 |
Artut, Jyhan |
£3,000 |
|
68 |
Newton, Wes |
£3,000 |
|
68 |
Dekker, Jan |
£3,000 |
|
68 |
Eijden, Remco van |
£3,000 |
|
76 |
Allenstein, Robert |
£2,500 |
|
76 |
Holz, Mike |
£2,500 |
|
76 |
Kamphuis, Vincent |
£2,500 |
|
76 |
Taylor, Scott |
£2,500 |
|
76 |
West, Tony |
£2,500 |
|
76 |
Aspinall, Nathan |
£2,500 |
|
76 |
Hudson, Peter |
£2,500 |
|
76 |
Stoyke, Stefan |
£2,500 |
|
76 |
Stevenson, Simon |
£2,500 |
|
76 |
Langendorf, Maik |
£2,500 |
|
76 |
Rasztovits, Michael |
£2,500 |
|
76 |
Decker, Mike De |
£2,500 |
|
88 |
Meikle, Ryan |
£2,000 |
|
88 |
Vegso, Janos |
£2,000 |
|
88 |
Zwaan, Jeffrey de |
£2,000 |
|
88 |
Puls, Marko |
£2,000 |
|
88 |
Jones, Wayne |
£2,000 |
|
88 |
Smith, Ross |
£2,000 |
|
88 |
Zuydwijk, Mike |
£2,000 |
|
88 |
Gilding, Andrew |
£2,000 |
|
88 |
Welge, Andree |
£2,000 |
|
88 |
Kellett, Stuart |
£2,000 |
|
88 |
Duijvenbode, Dirk van |
£2,000 |
|
88 |
O'Connor, William |
£2,000 |
|
100 |
Brown, Keegan |
£1,500 |
|
100 |
Dootson, Eddie |
£1,500 |
|
100 |
Evetts, Ted |
£1,500 |
|
100 |
McGowan, Mick |
£1,500 |
|
100 |
Tabern, Alan |
£1,500 |
|
100 |
Walker, Jim |
£1,500 |
|
100 |
Viljanen, Kim |
£1,500 |
|
100 |
Caris, Magnus |
£1,500 |
|
100 |
Alcinas, Antonio |
£1,500 |
|
100 |
Fullwell, Nick |
£1,500 |
|
100 |
Bowles, John |
£1,500 |
|
100 |
Harrington, Ryan |
£1,500 |
|
100 |
Thomas, Kevin |
£1,500 |
|
113 |
Barnard, Michael |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Clemens, Gabriel |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Dale, Scott |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Dennant, Matthew |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Foreman, Jay |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Hine, Steve |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Hubbard, James |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Mansell, Mickey |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Marijanovic, Robert |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Munch, Kevin |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Owen, Robert |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Ratajski, Krzysztof |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Webers, Justin |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Griffiths, Shaun |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Newell, Tony |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Petri, Daniele |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Rettig, Holger |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Ward, Harry |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Brown, Darron |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Mandl, Nico |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
McNally, Steve |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Rodriguez, Roxy-James |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Corner, Richie |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Horst, Michel van der |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Robinson, Jamie |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Williams, Ricky |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Worsley, Jonathan |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Federico, George |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Francis, David |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Lopez, Antony |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Barilli, Mark |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Davies, Ben |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Junghans, Thomas |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Seyler, Tomas |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Baxter, Ronnie |
£1,000 |
|
113 |
Milford, Paul |
£1,000 |