The 2018 European Darts Open was the first of thirteen PDC European Tour events on the 2018 PDC Pro Tour. The tournament took place at Ostermann-Arena, Leverkusen, Germany, between 23–25 March 2018. It featured a field of 48 players and £135,000 in prize money, with £25,000 going to the winner.
| 2018 European Darts Open | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament information | |||
| Dates | 23–25 March 2018 | ||
| Venue | Ostermann-Arena | ||
| Location | Leverkusen | ||
| Country |  Germany | ||
| Organisation(s) | PDC | ||
| Format | Legs | ||
| Prize fund | £135,000 | ||
| Winner's share | £25,000 | ||
| High checkout | 170  Simon Whitlock (third round)  Michael van Gerwen (quarter-finals)  Peter Wright (semi-finals) | ||
| Champion(s) | |||
| Michael van Gerwen | |||
| |||
This was the first event in the PDC European Tour where the format of the semi-finals and final were slightly altered. As in previous years, the first 3 rounds of action, plus the quarter-finals were all best of 11 legs matches, but the semi-finals became best of 13 legs matches, and the final became a best of 15 legs match.
Peter Wright was the defending champion after defeating Mervyn King 6–2 in the final of the 2017 tournament. He reached the final of this tournament, but he was defeated by Michael van Gerwen 8–7 in the first best of 15 legs final.[1]
Prize money
editThis is how the prize money is divided:
| Stage (num. of players) | Prize money | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | (1) | £25,000 |
| Runner-up | (1) | £10,000 |
| Semi-finalists | (2) | £6,000 |
| Quarter-finalists | (4) | £4,000 |
| Third round losers | (8) | £3,000 |
| Second round losers | (16) | £2,000 |
| First round losers | (16) | £1,000 |
| Total | £135,000 | |
Prize money will count towards the PDC Order of Merit, the ProTour Order of Merit and the European Tour Order of Merit, with one exception: should a seeded player lose in the second round (last 32), their prize money will not count towards any Orders of Merit, although they still receive the full prize money payment.[2][3]
Qualification and format
editThe top 16 entrants from the PDC ProTour Order of Merit on 6 February will automatically qualify for the event and will be seeded in the second round.
The remaining 32 places will go to players from five qualifying events – 18 from the UK Qualifier (held in Barnsley on 16 February), eight from the West/South European Qualifier (held on 22 March), four from the Host Nation Qualifier (held on 22 March), one from the Nordic & Baltic Qualifier (held on 26 January) and one from the East European Qualifier (held on 26 January).
The following players will take part in the tournament:
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Draw
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e "Van Gerwen Beats Wright In ET1 Thriller". PDC. 25 March 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- ^ "European Tour 2018 Info". PDPA. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ^ "European Tour Rule Changes Announced". PDC. 19 January 2017.
- ^ "2018 European Tour 1-2 Entries". PDC. 9 February 2018.
- ^ "2018 ET1-2 UK Qualifiers". PDC. 16 February 2018.
- ^ a b "Double ET Qualifying Success For Quartet". PDC. 23 March 2018.
- ^ "PDC Europe Qualification 1". PDC Nordic & Baltic. 26 January 2018. Archived from the original on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
- ^ "Six Players Win European Tour Spots". PDC. 29 January 2018.
- ^ "2018 European Darts Open Day One". PDC. 23 March 2018.
- ^ "2018 European Darts Open Day Two". PDC. 24 March 2018.