THE Unibet European Championship kicks off in Belgium on Friday, as Michael van Gerwen begins his bid to retain the title against Dutch youngster Jeffrey de Zwaan as part of a mouth-watering first round in the £300,000 event.
World number one van Gerwen lifted the European Championship title for a first time 12 months ago, hitting a nine-dart finish during his semi-final win over Raymond van Barneveld before defeating Terry Jenkins in the final.
The Dutch ace enters this event as the 2/1 tournament favourite with sponsors Unibet as he prepares to take on 19-year-old debutant de Zwaan in Friday night's opener.
"I'm really looking forward to it and I am really determined to defend my title," said van Gerwen, the World Grand Prix runner-up three weeks ago who has won The Masters, the UK Open and World Matchplay in 2015.
"It was special for me to win this event for the first time last year and I hit a nine-darter on the way so I hope I can do something like that again.
"It won't be easy but if I concentrate myself and don't make many mistakes then I believe I will win."
Van Gerwen, though, acknowledges the size of his opening challenge against fellow countryman de Zwaan, the teenager who won a PDC Tour Card in January and has already hit a nine-dart finish on the circuit and qualified for five European Tour events.
"I have a tough first round game against a good young Dutch player - but he has an even tougher one!" added van Gerwen. "He is a brilliant player but I believe if I play my game I will win not just this match but the tournament."
Four-time European Champion Phil Taylor takes on another one of the event's eight Dutch qualifiers, Vincent van der Voort.
The former UK Open finalist took victory when the pair met in the World Grand Prix first round at the start of October, despite Taylor missing a dart at the bullseye to complete a nine-dart finish during the match.
"That was a great match and Vincent played superbly to beat me, but this is a new tournament and it's a new game," said Taylor, the 9/2 second favourite. "I'm excited and it would be brilliant to win the title again this weekend."
Another high-profile all-Dutch clash sees five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld up against former Lakeside Champion Jelle Klaasen, who has won two Players Championship events this year.
2013 European Champion Adrian Lewis opens up against Dutch youngster Benito van de Pas, while 2012 winner Simon Whitlock meets Swedish qualifier Magnus Caris.
World Champion and Premier League champion Gary Anderson kicks off his challenge to land another major title against Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan, with the Scot having won a Players Championship last weekend.
World number four Peter Wright also claimed a Players Championship victory last weekend and was a European Tour runner-up in Germany earlier this month, and is full of confidence as he prepares to take on debutant Alan Norris.
"I've had a couple of good results recently and I've worked really hard over the last month," said Wright. "I set my sights on winning a Players Championship last weekend and I did that, and I want to do the same in Belgium now."
The tournament's debut in Belgium will be extra special for home hope Kim Huybrechts, who takes on 2014 semi-finalist Mervyn King in Friday's first round only a fortnight after he claimed a European Tour win.
"It's fabulous that we have a major tournament in Belgium and I can't wait for this weekend," said Huybrechts. "It's something I've been aware of all year and I'm determined to do well.
"I'm feeling happy with my game and I'm confident at the moment, so I can't wait to get on stage."
2014 finalist Terry Jenkins faces number seven seed James Wade, while in-form Mensur Suljovic - who has reached four ranking semi-finals during October - takes on Dave Chisnall.
Friday's afternoon session kicks off as Germany's 19-year-old Max Hopp meets Spanish debutant Cristo Reyes, another of the newcomers to have made a big impression in 2015 after joining the PDC circuit.
Holland's Christian Kist is up against Austrian youngster Rowby-John Rodriguez and Justin Pipe plays another Dutch debutant, Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Michael Smith plays Wales' Gerwyn Price, number eight seed Ian White takes on Stephen Bunting and World Grand Prix champion Robert Thornton, seeded fifth, plays Scottish rival John Henderson.
The £300,000 tournament continues on Saturday, with the second round split across two sessions at the Ethias Arena in Hasselt, before Sunday's Finals Day sees the quarter-finals take place in the afternoon session and the semi-finals and final in the evening session.
Tickets can be purchased through www.pdc-europe.tv.
Television coverage will be live in the UK through ITV4, with worldwide coverage through the following broadcasters:
ITV4 - UK
Setanta - Ireland
RTL7 - Netherlands
Sport1 - Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein & Luxemburg
Play Sport - Belgium
Nova - Czech Republic & Slovakia
OSN - Middle East & North Africa
Fox Sports - Australia
Sky - New Zealand
LIVEPDC.TV - For International Pass Subscribers outside of UK, Ireland & Netherlands
Unibet Pre-Event Video
Unibet Pre-Tournament Odds
2/1 Michael van Gerwen
9/2 Phil Taylor
6/1 Gary Anderson
18/1 Adrian Lewis
20/1 James Wade
28/1 Peter Wright
28/1 Dave Chisnall
33/1 Ian White
33/1 Robert Thornton
40/1 Kim Huybrechts
40/1 Michael Smith
40/1 Raymond van Barneveld
50/1 Jelle Klaasen
50/1 Mensur Suljovic
66/1 Alan Norris
66/1 Stephen Bunting
80/1 Terry Jenkins
80/1 Simon Whitlock
80/1 Vincent van der Voort
100/1 Gerwyn Price
100/1 Benito van de Pas
100/1 Justin Pipe
125/1 Mervyn King
150/1 Brendan Dolan
200/1 Jeffrey de Zwaan
250/1 Max Hopp
250/1 Christian Kist
250/1 Cristo Reyes
300/1 Rowby-John Rodriguez
400/1 John Henderson
500/1 Dirk van Duijvenbode
750/1 Magnus Caris
Unibet Specials
Nine-Dart Finish
Yes 7/4
No 11/25
170 Checkout
Yes 9/25
No 21/10
Nationality of Winner
11/10 English
5/4 Dutch
7/2 Scottish
10/1 Any Other Nationality
Odds courtesy www.unibet.co.uk and correct at 10am on October 29 2015
Unibet European Championship
Friday October 30
Afternoon Session (1.45pm-6pm local time, 12.45pm-5pm UK time)
First Round x8
Cristo Reyes v Max Hopp
Christian Kist v Rowby-John Rodriguez
Simon Whitlock v Magnus Caris
Justin Pipe v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Michael Smith v Gerwyn Price
Ian White v Stephen Bunting
Robert Thornton v John Henderson
Peter Wright v Alan Norris
Evening Session (8pm-12am local time, 7pm-11pm UK time)
First Round x8
Adrian Lewis v Benito van de Pas
Mensur Suljovic v Dave Chisnall
James Wade v Terry Jenkins
Gary Anderson v Brendan Dolan
Jelle Klaasen v Raymond van Barneveld
Phil Taylor v Vincent van der Voort
Michael van Gerwen v Jeffrey de Zwaan
Kim Huybrechts v Mervyn King
Saturday October 31
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 November 1
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
Format
First Round - Best of 11 legs
Second Round - Best of 19 legs
Quarter-Finals - Best of 19 legs
Semi-Finals - Best of 21 legs
Final - Best of 21 legs
Prize Fund
Winner £65,000
Runner-Up £35,000
Semi-Finalists £17,000
Quarter-Finalists £11,500
Second Round Losers £7,000
First Round Losers £4,000
Total £300,000
Nine-Dart Bonus: £25,000, which would be split on a pro-rata basis if achieved by more than one player.