The 2019 Unibet European Championship gets underway on Thursday at the Lokhalle in Gottingen, Germany as James Wade begins his title defence against Jonny Clayton on the opening night.

The Unibet European Championship will be held from October 24-27, with the top 32 players from the 2019 European Tour competing for £500,000 in prize money.

Wade defeated Simon Whitlock 11-8 in last year’s gripping final in Dortmund having survived missed match darts in both his quarter-final win over Gerwyn Price and a dramatic semi-final against German favourite Max Hopp.

Thursday’s action-packed opening session will begin with a clash between European Darts Matchplay winner Joe Cullen and Mervyn King before a meeting between former European Championship winners Adrian Lewis and Whitlock.

Michael van Gerwen will begin his quest for a third televised title in as many weeks against Ross Smith after winning the World Grand Prix and Champions League over the past fortnight.

The world number one, Unibet’s 6/4 pre-tournament favourite, is confident of regaining his European Championship title after losing out in last year’s second round.

Day One also sees Rob Cross in action against Darren Webster, while Danish Darts Open winner Dave Chisnall takes on Dimitri Van den Bergh.

Ian White, a winner of two European Tour titles in 2019, will play Michael Smith in Friday afternoon’s star attraction, as Peter Wright faces the test of rising Dutch talent Jeffrey de Zwaan.

2019 European Tour winners Gerwyn Price, Mensur Suljovic, Krzysztof Ratajski and Jamie Hughes will also get their campaigns underway on the afternoon of Day Two.

Friday’s evening session will see the opening four second round ties take place, before the remaining four are played on Saturday evening.

The quarter-finals will kick-off Sunday’s final day of action, followed by the semi-finals and final in the evening.

Unibet Spokesperson Jack Milner commented: “Success here 12 months ago sparked James Wade’s renaissance, and a host of players will be eyeing-up this year’s Unibet European Championship to potentially do likewise at next month’s renewal in Gottingen. MVG is an uneasy favourite as the 6/4 market leader, and 1/8 to better Ross Smith in the opening round, with nibbles at bigger prices for both Krzysztof Ratajaski and Dave Chisnall at 22/1.”

2019 Unibet European Championship Draw

(1) Michael van Gerwen v (32) Ross Smith
(16) Glen Durrant v (17) Ricky Evans
(8) Joe Cullen v (25) Mervyn King
(9) Rob Cross v (24) Darren Webster
(5) Dave Chisnall v (28) Dimitri Van den Bergh
(12) James Wade v (21) Jonny Clayton
(4) Daryl Gurney v (29) William O’Connor
(13) Adrian Lewis v (20) Simon Whitlock
(2) Ian White v (31) Michael Smith
(15) Keegan Brown v (18) Stephen Bunting
(7) Peter Wright v (26) Jeffrey de Zwaan
(10) Jamie Hughes v (23) Jermaine Wattimena
(6) Mensur Suljovic v (27) Vincent van der Voort
(11) Krzysztof Ratajski v (22) Chris Dobey
(3) Gerwyn Price v (30) Ted Evetts
(14) Nathan Aspinall v (19) Steve Beaton