EUROPEAN TOUR TO RETURN WITH GERMAN DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP
The draw and schedule of play have been confirmed for the 2020 German Darts Championship as the European Tour returns on Friday in Hildesheim.
The second European Tour event of the year, staged over six months after the Belgian Darts Championship, will see 48 PDC stars competing for £140,000 in prize money across three days from September 25-27.
The action will be played in front of a socially-distanced crowd at Halle 39, with Friday's first round headlined by a meeting between 2018 World Matchplay semi-finalist Jeffrey de Zwaan and in-form South African Devon Petersen.
Friday afternoon's first of six sessions will begin with 2010 Grand Slam of Darts winner Scott Waites making his European Tour debut against Darren Penhall, while the evening session will see world number four Michael Smith take on fellow-St Helens resident Alan Tabern.
The field was confirmed on Thursday night, with Cody Harris and Ronny Huybrechts winning through the Associate Member Qualifier in Hildesheim and Nico Kurz, Dragutin Horvat, Lukas Wenig and Franz Roetzsch progressing from the Host Nation Qualifier.
The German Darts Championship is the final event before the cut-off for the BoyleSports World Grand Prix, with qualification places still up for grabs.
The 16 seeded stars, including the world's top three Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright and Gerwyn Price, enter the action in Saturday's second round, with the tournament then concluding with Finals Day on Sunday.
A limited number of tickets for the German Darts Championship are available through PDC Europe.
The German Darts Championship will be broadcast through PDCTV as well as through a series of bookmakers' websites worldwide.
2020 German Darts Championship
Draw Bracket
(1) Michael van Gerwen v Boris Koltsov/Steve Lennon
(16) Jermaine Wattimena v Steffen Siepmann/Mervyn King
(8) Mensur Suljovic v Franz Roetzsch/Jeff Smith
(9) James Wade v Jason Lowe/Nico Kurz
(4) Peter Wright v Michael Smith/Alan Tabern
(13) Jonny Clayton v Chris Dobey/Ryan Murray
(5) Dave Chisnall v Lukas Wenig/Cody Harris
(12) Nathan Aspinall v Ronny Huybrechts/Dragutin Horvat
(2) Ian White v Reece Robinson/Max Hopp
(15) Adrian Lewis v Danny Noppert/Josh Payne
(7) Daryl Gurney v Steve West/Gabriel Clemens
(10) Glen Durrant v Scott Waites/Darren Penhall
(3) Gerwyn Price v Jeffrey de Zwaan/Devon Petersen
(14) Rob Cross v Daniel Larsson/William O'Connor
(6) Krzysztof Ratajski v Ron Meulenkamp/Richard North
(11) Joe Cullen v Steve Brown/Adam Hunt
Schedule of Play
Friday September 25
First Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Scott Waites v Darren Penhall
Daniel Larsson v William O'Connor
Ron Meulenkamp v Richard North
Boris Koltsov v Steve Lennon
Franz Roetzsch v Jeff Smith
Lukas Wenig v Cody Harris
Ronny Huybrechts v Dragutin Horvat
Steffen Siepmann v Mervyn King
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Danny Noppert v Josh Payne
Steve Brown v Adam Hunt
Steve West v Gabriel Clemens
Jason Lowe v Nico Kurz
Reece Robinson v Max Hopp
Jeffrey de Zwaan v Devon Petersen
Chris Dobey v Ryan Murray
Michael Smith v Alan Tabern
Saturday September 26
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Dave Chisnall v Wenig/Harris
Jermaine Wattimena v Siepmann/King
Adrian Lewis v Noppert/Payne
James Wade v Lowe/Kurz
Daryl Gurney v West/Clemens
Nathan Aspinall v Huybrechts/Horvat
Glen Durrant v Waites/Penhall
Rob Cross v Larsson/O'Connor
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Jonny Clayton v Dobey/Murray
Ian White v Robinson/Hopp
Mensur Suljovic v Roetzsch/J Smith
Michael van Gerwen v Koltsov/Lennon
Peter Wright v M Smith/Tabern
Krzysztof Ratajski v Meulenkamp/North
Gerwyn Price v De Zwaan/Petersen
Joe Cullen v Brown/Hunt
Sunday September 27
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Third Round
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Format
All games up to, and including, the quarter-finals, are the best of 11 legs. The semi-finals are the best of 13 legs and the final is the best of 15 legs. Sunday's games played in Draw Bracket order.