Michael van Gerwen will return to Leverkusen with his five-title European Darts Open record back in focus after PDC Europe confirmed the 48-player field, 10-12 July dates and £230,000 prize fund for the Ostermann-Arena event.
The Dutchman is listed among the top 16 PDC Order of Merit qualifiers for European Tour Event 10, which means he enters in the second round alongside Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, Gerwyn Price, Gary Anderson, Nathan Aspinall, Ross Smith and Wessel Nijman.
Van Gerwen’s Leverkusen history is the obvious headline within the field. PDC Europe’s previous-winners list credits him with five European Darts Open titles, including the 2022, 2019, 2018, 2016 and 2013 editions, while Aspinall arrives as defending champion after beating Damon Heta 8-6 in last year’s final.
Leverkusen record meets full-strength field
The event carries ranking weight across the PDC Order of Merit, ProTour Order of Merit and European Tour Order of Merit, making it more than a heritage stop for Van Gerwen. The confirmed ProTour qualifiers include Heta, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Martin Schindler, Joe Cullen and Cameron Menzies, with host-nation places also reserved for Dragutin Horvat, Jaimy van de Weerd, Jan Schmidt and Daniel Klose.
First-round matches will be played on Friday 10 July, before the seeded names enter on Saturday. Finals night follows on Sunday 12 July, with £35,000 going to the winner, according to the PDC Europe tournament guide.
