European Championship

The nineteenth edition of the European Championship was held at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund from October 22nd to 25th. The 32 best players of the European Tour season competed for the title and a share of the £750,000 prize fund. It was Ross Smith who ultimately claimed the title for the second time, after defeating German favourite Martin Schindler 11–8 in the final.

The tournament suffered a late withdrawal from Luke Humphries, who was replaced by Belgian Kim Huybrechts. The Belgian took full advantage of his opportunity, averaging 103.81 in an impressive 6–1 victory over Ryan Searle. Defending champion Gian van Veen survived his opening match, while Luke Littler defeated William O'Connor 6–3 with an average of 105.05. Luke Woodhouse also produced a memorable moment by hitting a nine-darter against Dirk van Duijvenbode.

In the second round, the remaining Dutch players were all eliminated. Van Veen lost 10–6 to Luke Woodhouse, while Wattimena was unable to stop Martin Schindler, losing 10–4. Kevin Doets put up a stronger fight against Krzysztof Ratajski but eventually lost 10–8. Ross Smith continued his tournament with a 10–7 victory over Damon Heta, while Gerwyn Price comfortably defeated Cameron Menzies 10–4. Littler produced the highest average of the tournament, throwing an outstanding 114.47 in a 10–5 victory over Nathan Aspinall, who himself averaged 105.57.

In the quarterfinals, Ross Smith faced Luke Woodhouse, with Woodhouse averaging 103.40, but Smith proved too strong with an impressive 107.00 average and a 10–6 victory. Price defeated Stephen Bunting 10–3 with an average of 103.00. The biggest surprise came from Martin Schindler, who demolished Jonny Clayton 10–1 in front of his home crowd. Finally, Ratajski caused another major upset by eliminating world number one Luke Littler 10–6.

Ross Smith faced Gerwyn Price in the semifinal. The Englishman eventually secured an 11–7 victory to reach the final in Dortmund for the second time in his career. In the other semi-final, Martin Schindler faced Krzysztof Ratajski. The German defeating the Pole 11–6 to reach his first major televised final.

The final between Ross Smith and Martin Schindler promised to be an interesting encounter, with the German enjoying the support of the Dortmund crowd. The opening four legs were shared, but Smith then took complete control. The Englishman won six consecutive legs to establish a commanding 8–2 lead and appeared to be heading for a comfortable victory.

However, Schindler refused to give up. The German fought back with some excellent finishing, including checkouts of 116 and 127, and reduced the deficit to 9–7. Smith managed to regain his composure and moved to within one leg of victory. The Englishman completed an 11–8 victory with his fifth match dart.

With this triumph, Ross Smith became European Champion for the second time, having previously won the tournament in 2022 after defeating Michael Smith in the final. He became only the fifth player to win multiple European Championship titles and collected the £150,000 winner's prize.