2025 EUROPEAN DARTS OPEN PREVIEW
2025 European Darts Open Preview
The 2025 European Darts Open is set to take place from May 30th to 1st June in Leverkusen, Germany. It will be the eighth event of the 14 that make up the race to the European Championship. It is also the final event of the May Euro Tour triple header which will be followed by a break until mid-July.
​
The European Darts Open has been held in every season of the Euro Tour since the first edition in 2012, except for in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19.
​
The first five editions of the event were held at the Maritim Hotel in Düsseldorf, but the last seven have all been held at Leverkusen’s Ostermann-Arena
European Darts Open
The History of Darts at the Ostermann-Arena
The venue witnessed a nine-darter from Michael van Gerwen, the most successful player in the history of the event, in the 2019 edition which featured a 147 checkout with a strange route (T19-Bull-D20).
​
The Ostermann-Arena is also home to Bayer Giants Leverkusen, the most successful team in the history of German basketball but which now plays in the third division.
​
The venue is located just opposite the BayArena, home of football team Bayer Leverkusen who last year became the first team to win the German domestic double unbeaten.
Who Has Qualified for the Event?
The current European Tour format means that the top 16 players from both the main PDC Order of Merit and the Pro Tour Order of Merit qualify automatically and enter as follows:
Top 16 from Main OOM
These players are seeded and start in round two. Luke Littler, Gerwyn Price and Josh Rock have each withdrawn, with Littler continuing his boycott of German Euro Tours and Rock missing his first ET event since mid-2024.
Top 16 from Pro Tour Order OOM
These players face one of 16 qualifiers in round one. Ryan Joyce, Niels Zonneveld and German Ricardo Pietreczcko have qualified through this route as a result of the withdrawals, with Pietreczcko looking to make it past the second round for the first time this season at one of his home events.
Tour Card Holder Qualifiers
10 players secured their spots for Leverkusen at the Tour Card Holder Qualifier on 14th May.
​
-
Germans Niko Springer and Lukas Wenig have qualified and will make their fifth and second respective Euro Tour appearances of the season.
-
Brendan Dolan and Richard Veenstra will both make their first Euro Tour appearances of the season.
​ -
Darryl Pilgrim will make only his second Euro Tour appearance since winning his tour card and his first since the season-opening Belgian Darts Open.
Host Nation Qualifier
Four German players qualified at the Host Nation Qualifier on 17th May.
​
-
2024 Word Championship qualifier Dragutin Horvat will play in the European Darts Open for the second time, his first since 2017.
-
Kevin Knopf will make his second Euro Tour appearance of the year, and only a third since his debut in 2019.
-
Moritz Bohrmann and Joshua Hermann will both make their Euro Tour debuts after averaging 86.75 and 84.22 respectively in the qualifier.
The Final Two Qualifiers:
The East Europe qualifier which was won by Petr Krivka, who gave the reigning European Champion Richie Edhouse a scare in Riesa, for a second time this year
The Nordic and Baltic qualifier which was won by Andreas Harrysson for a second time this year, meaning that he will play in more than one Euro Tour event in a season for the first tim
Betting Tips for the 2025 European Darts Open
​Gary Anderson and Martin Schindler, the number 12 and 15 seeds, are showing good form so far. Both players have won titles on the Euro Tour this year.
​
-
Gary Anderson - 15/2 (currently FAV)
​ -
Martin Schindler - 20/1
If you're looking for best value, Schindler could be worth an each way.
​
Odds correct at time of posting and are subject to change.
Best Betting Sites for the 2025 European Darts Open
Alternative Tips for the 2025 European Darts Open
Looking for something a bit different to our two main picks? Here are some alternatives that are worth considering:
​
Possible value in the Pro Tour OOM qualifiers:
​
Dutchmen Wessel Nijman (16/1), Dirk van Duijvenbode (20/1) and Jermaine Wattimena (66/1) could all be good value picks in their hunt for a first Euro Tour title.
​
2023 World Champion Michael Smith, who has been struggling over recent years but reached the quarterfinals of ET6, could be a good option as there are some small signs he is returning to form. Smith is currently priced at 20/1.
​​​
TWO interesting outsider picks:
​
-
Niko Springer good be a good pick at big odds, having averaged 115.92 on stage two at the UK Open - 66/1
-
Darryl Pilgrim, whose peaks are very high as evidenced by a 122.69 average in the Modus Super Series, could also (draw dependent) be a good selection to make it through the first few rounds - 250/1
​
Odds correct at time of posting and are subject to change.
Best Odds for the Dutch Darts Championship 2025
18+. T&Cs Apply.
18+. T&Cs Apply.
18+. T&Cs Apply.
Past Winners and Finalists of the European Darts Open
Dutch players have won six of the 11 editions of the European Darts Open:
-
Michael van Gerwen, the most successful player in Euro Tour history, has won the event five times including three times in a row ending with his most recent title in 2022
-
The first edition was won by the legend Raymond van Barneveld, in what is still his only victory and final appearance on the Euro Tour
​
Scotland has been the second most successful nation in the event:
-
Two-time World Champion Peter Wright won in 2014 and 2017, as well as losing to MVG in the 2016 and 2018 finals
-
Robert Thornton won the title, the first and only Euro Tour title of his career, in 2015 with a 111.77 average in the semi-final and 106.18 average in the final
​
The two other and most recent winners also come from the UK:
-
Welshman Gerwyn Price claimed the first of his two consecutive 2023 Euro Tour titles at the event, beating Dirk van Duijvenbode in a deciding leg
-
England’s Dave Chisnall, who was the runner-up to RVB in the first ever European Darts Open final in 2012, finally claimed the title last year with an 8-6 win over Ross Smith
Last year’s edition was very close with all four quarterfinals going to deciding legs.
