The PDC European Tour will return with the International Darts Open in Riesa from February 25-27, with the Belgian Darts Open now moving to be staged in September.
A series of 13 European Tour events will be staged this year, with each featuring 48 players competing for £140,000 in prize money.
The SACHSENarena in Riesa will host the year's first event from February 25-27, with local regulations requiring a limit of 2,000 fans per session.
The event will also be subject to the "2G+" rule, requiring:
- All persons who have already received a booster vaccination will be able to attend without further testing.
- All persons who have been vaccinated twice or have recovered from Covid-19 must present proof of a negative lateral flow test taken on each day of attendance. There will be a test centre available at the venue if required.
- Children & teenagers up to, and including, 15 years of age may attend without restrictions. From age 16 onwards, the same rules apply as for adults.
- Adults (aged 16+) without complete vaccination protection (classified as at least two vaccinations) are not able to attend.
- All fans attending will be required to provide proof of vaccination, and testing where applicable, at the entrance to the venue.
- An FFP2 mask is required to be worn when moving around the venue, unless seated.
"The start of the 2022 European Tour is a very important sign," said PDC Europe chairman Werner von Moltke. "Even though we will have regulations in Riesa, we do hope to be able to welcome darts fans to events under 'normal' conditions again soon.
"We are expecting that in the coming weeks and months, further relaxations of rules will follow to enable fans to enjoy our events staged across Europe this year."
Meanwhile, the Belgian Darts Open, promoted by Golazo, has been moved from March 2022 to be held from September 23-25 in at the Oktoberhallen in Wieze.
Tickets for the Belgian Darts Open will be available in due course from the local promoter. Information will be updated at pdc.tv/ticketsand pdc-europe.tv/tickets once confirmed.
The news means that the numbering of the first Three European Tour events are as follows...
ET1 - International Darts Open, Riesa, February 25-27
ET2 - German Darts Championship, Hildesheim, March 11-13
ET3 - German Darts Grand Prix, Munich, April 16-18
The Associate Member Qualifiers and Host Nation Qualifiers for the above three events will all be staged in Riesa. The Associate Member Qualifiers will be held on Wednesday February 23, and the Host Nation Qualifiers will be held on Thursday February 24.
In addition, tickets for the 2022 Gibraltar Darts Trophy, to be held from October 14-16, will go on sale on Friday February 11 from 1000 GMT via www.buytickets.gi.
Further to the above confirmation of the new dates for the Belgian Darts Open, a Players Championship double-header will now take place at the H+ Hotel in Niedernhausen on March 26-27.
The date and venue for one further European Tour event will be confirmed in due course.