About European Championship 2021

Champion
European Darts Championship - 2021 Photographer: Kais Bodensieck/PDC Rob Cross
Total Prize Pool £500,000
Champion
£120,000
Runner-up
£60,000
Semi finalists
£32,000
Quarter finalists
£20,000
Last 16
£10,000
Last 32
£6,000

The fourteenth edition of the European Championship was held at the Salzburgarena in Austria from 14 to 17 October. Rob Cross won the European Championship for the second time, beating Michael van Gerwen in the final.

Because the field of participants was determined by the results of only two EuroTour tournaments, a lot of notable names participated or did not participate. Players such as Jonny Clayton, Dimitri van den Bergh and Gary Anderson did not participate in the tournament. On behalf of the Netherlands, only Michael van Gerwen and Danny Noppert were present.

Peter Wright, Krzysztof Ratajski and Michael Smith do not survive the first round as higher placed players. Ratajski loses 6-2 against Danny Noppert, while Wright surprisingly loses to German debutant Florian Hempel. Michael van Gerwen takes an easy win against Boris Krcmar: 6-2.

There are a few surprising results in the second round. Van Gerwen convincingly beats James Wade 10-4, while Noppert beats Ryan Searle with the same numbers. Rob Cross also records a 10-4 victory: Brendan Dolan is no match for the former World Champion.

In the quarterfinals the curtain falls for Danny Noppert. In an exciting match, he finally loses 10-9 against Nathan Aspinall. Michael van Gerwen does manage to reach the semi-finals: 'Mighty Mike' plays a fantastic game against Gerwyn Price and beats the World Champion 10-8. Both players threw an average of more than 107. Rob Cross beats Jose de Sousa 10-5 and Joe Cullen beats 'home player' Mensur Suljovic (10-7).

In the last four Van Gerwen plays against Aspinall and Cross takes on Cullen. Van Gerwen quickly takes a big lead against 'The Asp', but sees his English opponent come back all the way. In the end it is Van Gerwen who goes to the final, after winning a 21st and deciding leg. Cross had less trouble with his opponent: he beats Cullen 11-3 and goes to the final for the second time (after 2019).

Unfortunately, the final does not turn out as expected: both players look tired and cannot show their good play from earlier in the tournament. Van Gerwen in particular misses quite a few chances on the doubles. At the end, it’s Cross who manages to take the 11-8 victory. 'Voltage' manages to win the European Championship for the second time after 2019.

European Championship 2021

Salzburgarena in
Salzburg, AUT
Organizer:
Professional Darts Corporation
Sponsor:
Cazoo
Participants:
32
Prize Pool:
£500,000
Start Date:
14 Oct 2021
End Date:
17 Oct 2021
25 days
18 hours
09 minutes
10 seconds
Westfalenhalle in
Dortmund, DEU
24 Oct - 27 Oct Date
£500,000 Prize
Peter Wright Reigning Champion