Written-off Peter Wright is adamant he’s still amongst the elite.
The Scottish star begins the defence of his European Championship title on Friday night in Dortmund aiming to maintain a resurgence in form. Wright ended his two-year wait for a televised ranking title in last year’s showpiece and, following another difficult spell at the start of 2024, returned to the winner’s circle in last month’s German Darts Championship.
Snakebite, who begins his bid against Jermaine Wattimena, has proved he’s still got the game having been cast aside by critics during his period out of form. He said: “I showed I can still mix it with the very best, I think some of my performances over the last few months have shown I’m still more than capable of beating anybody in the world.
“I’m expecting a tough game against Jermaine. He’s had a strong year on the European Tour, but if I play my own game, I know I can have another great weekend in Dortmund. Winning this trophy last year meant a lot to me. I always get incredible support from the fans in Germany, and, with so many big tournaments coming up, retaining this title would be a great way to kickstart my year.”
Wright’s World Cup team-mate Gary Anderson gets started on Thursday when the two-time World Champion locks horns in a blockbuster clash with Stephen Bunting.
Thursday’s other headline matches include home hero Gabriel Clemens meeting four-time European Champion Michael van Gerwen for a place in Saturday’s second round.
Dynamic duo Luke Humphries and Luke Littler get their campaigns started alongside Wright on Friday night. The World No.1 and World Champion begins his bid against 2023 World Matchplay winner Nathan Aspinall, while the 17-year-old superstar goes up against former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding.
Humphries won last week’s Czech Open and said: “I felt really good in Prague. I think I took the defeat at the World Grand Prix really well. Sometimes you just have to accept that the better player won and Mike [De Decker] deserved it. It was nice to bounce back so quickly because, when you lose in major finals, it’s not easy, it does hurt you.”
First-round schedule of Play
Thursday October 24 – Gian van Veen v Ritchie Edhouse Gerwyn Price v Daryl Gurney, Ross Smith v Luke Woodhouse, Stephen Bunting v Gary Anderson, Ryan Searle v Raymond van Barneveld, Michael van Gerwen v Gabriel Clemens, Martin Schindler v Dirk van Duijvenbode, Dave Chisnall v Michael Smith
Friday October 25 – Danny Noppert v Joe Cullen, Chris Dobey v Jonny Clayton, Rob Cross v James Wade, Ricardo Pietreczko v Damon Heta, Peter Wright v Jermaine Wattimena, Luke Littler v Andrew Gilding, Luke Humphries v Nathan Aspinall, Josh Rock v Mike De Decker.
What channel is the European Championship Darts on?
The Machineseeker European Championship will be broadcast live on ITV in the UK, through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding subscribers based in the UK, Germany, Austria & Switzerland).