Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and defending champion Nathan Aspinall have all been listed among the top-16 PDC Order of Merit entrants for the ELTEN Safety Shoes European Darts Open in Leverkusen from 10-12 July.
PDC Europe confirmed the 48-player field and session structure on Monday, with the Ostermann-Arena staging European Tour Event 10 of the season.
The top-ranked names will enter in Saturday’s second round, while ProTour qualifiers, Tour Card Holder Qualifiers and Host Nation Qualifiers begin the event from Friday’s first round.
Why Leverkusen Matters
The announcement gives the next European Tour stop a heavy major-season edge. Littler and Humphries arrive as the sport’s two biggest headline acts, Van Gerwen brings five previous European Darts Open titles into the same bracket, and Aspinall returns to the venue where he beat Damon Heta 8-6 in last year’s final.
The prize fund is also significant: £230,000 will be paid across the event, with £35,000 for the winner. That money counts towards the PDC Order of Merit, the ProTour Order of Merit and the European Tour Order of Merit, keeping the race for the European Championship firmly in play.
Gary Anderson, Stephen Bunting, Gerwyn Price, James Wade, Josh Rock, Gian van Veen and Wessel Nijman are also included in the elite seeded group, according to PDC Europe’s European Darts Open tournament details.
