LUKE ‘The Nuke’ Littler and his rivals commence the Machineseeker European Darts Championship in Dortmund, Germany, from today, Thursday.

The field for the £600,000 event was confirmed following the conclusion of the year’s 13th and final European Tour event in Prague last weekend, which saw Luke Humphries end Littler’s hopes in the semi-finals and go on to lift his second Czech Darts Open title.

The top 32 players on the 2024 European Tour Order of Merit will now compete for the coveted European champion title at the Westfalenhalle.

Warrington 17-year-old superstar Littler - a winner of two titles in his debut year on the European Tour – will take on Andrew Gilding on night two, with the pair due on stage at 8.30pm.

Peter Wright will begin his defence of the title against Jermaine Wattimena, while world number one Humphries and Nathan Aspinall will go head-to-head in a heavyweight first-round tie.

Dave Chisnall - also a two-time winner on the European Tour in 2024 - faces world number two and fellow St Helens thrower Michael Smith, with four-time European Champion Michael van Gerwen pitted against German number two Gabriel Clemens.

Top seed Martin Schindler will headline on home soil when he meets Dirk van Duijvenbode.

Sixth seed Josh Rock will play newly crowned World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker, while two-time European Champion Rob Cross opens his challenge against 2018 winner James Wade.

2022 champion Ross Smith will take on Luke Woodhouse for a place in round two, as Ryan Searle goes up against five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld.

Elsewhere, Masters champion Stephen Bunting will play 2015 European Championship runner-up Gary Anderson, who ended his 10-year wait for a European Tour title back in April.

Gerwyn Price and Daryl Gurney will do battle for the right to play Schindler or Van Duijvenbode, as Germany’s Ricardo Pietreczko makes his return to home soil against Australian number one Damon Heta.

Chris Dobey has been handed an opening round tie against a resurgent Jonny Clayton, 2023 semi-finalist Gian van Veen plays Ritchie Edhouse, while Danny Noppert and Joe Cullen also lock horns.

The schedule of play will be confirmed in due course, with the first round taking place across two sessions on Thursday and Friday evenings.

The remaining 16 players will then feature in Saturday’s second round, with the quarter-finals taking place on Sunday afternoon, ahead of the decisive semi-finals and final on Sunday night.

The Machineseeker European Championship will be broadcast live on ITV in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding subscribers based in the UK, Germany, Austria & Switzerland).

2024 Machineseeker European Championship schedule of play:

Thursday October 24 (6pm to 10pm BST)

First Round x8

Gian van Veen v Ritchie Edhouse, 6pm

Gerwyn Price v Daryl Gurney, 6.30pm

Ross Smith v Luke Woodhouse, 7pm

Stephen Bunting v Gary Anderson, 7.30pm

Ryan Searle v Raymond van Barneveld, 8pm

Michael van Gerwen v Gabriel Clemens, 8.30pm

Martin Schindler v Dirk van Duijvenbode, 9pm

Dave Chisnall v Michael Smith, 9.30pm

Friday October 25 (6pm to 10pm BST)

First Round x8

Danny Noppert v Joe Cullen, 6pm

Chris Dobey v Jonny Clayton, 6.30pm

Rob Cross v James Wade, 7pm

Ricardo Pietreczko v Damon Heta, 7.30pm

Peter Wright v Jermaine Wattimena, 8pm

Luke Littler v Andrew Gilding, 8.30pm

Luke Humphries v Nathan Aspinall, 9pm

Josh Rock v Mike De Decker, 9.30pm

Saturday October 26

Afternoon Session (11.45am to 4pm BST)

Second Round x4

Evening Session (6pm to 10pm BST)

Second Round x4

Sunday October 27

Afternoon Session (11.45am to 4pm GMT)

Quarter-Finals

Evening Session (6pm to 10pm GMT)

Semi-Finals

Final

2024 Machineseeker European Championship format

First Round - Best of 11 legs

Second Round - Best of 19 legs

Quarter-Finals - Best of 19 legs

Semi-Finals - Best of 21 legs

Final - Best of 21 legs

2024 Machineseeker European Championship draw bracket:

(1) Martin Schindler v (32) Dirk van Duijvenbode

(16) Gerwyn Price v (17) Daryl Gurney

(8) Ryan Searle v (25) Raymond van Barneveld

(9) Ross Smith v (24) Luke Woodhouse

(4) Dave Chisnall v (29) Michael Smith

(13) Gian van Veen v (20) Ritchie Edhouse

(5) Michael van Gerwen v (28) Gabriel Clemens

(12) Stephen Bunting v (21) Gary Anderson

(2) Luke Humphries v (31) Nathan Aspinall

(15) Chris Dobey v (18) Jonny Clayton

(7) Rob Cross v (26) James Wade

(10) Peter Wright v (23) Jermaine Wattimena

(3) Luke Littler v (30) Andrew Gilding

(14) Ricardo Pietreczko v (19) Damon Heta

(6) Josh Rock v (27) Mike De Decker

(11) Danny Noppert v (22) Joe Cullen

2024 Machineseeker European Championship prize fund

Winner: £120,000

Runner-Up: £60,000

Semi-Finalists: £40,000

Quarter Finalists: £25,000

Second Round Losers: £15,000

First Round Losers: £7,500

Total: £600,000

Machineseeker European Championship roll of honour

2008: Phil Taylor defeated Adrian Lewis 11-5

2009: Phil Taylor def Steve Beaton 11-3

2010: Phil Taylor def Wayne Jones 11-1

2011: Phil Taylor def Adrian Lewis 11-8

2012: Simon Whitlock def Wes Newton 11-5

2013: Adrian Lewis def Simon Whitlock 11-6

2014: Michael van Gerwen def Terry Jenkins 11-4

2015: Michael van Gerwen def Gary Anderson 11-10

2016: Michael van Gerwen def Mensur Suljovic 11-1

2017: Michael van Gerwen def Rob Cross 11-7

2018: James Wade def Simon Whitlock 11-8

2019: Rob Cross def Gerwyn Price 11-6

2020: Peter Wright def James Wade 11-4

2021: Rob Cross def Michael van Gerwen 11-8

2022: Ross Smith def Michael Smith 11-8

2023: Peter Wright def James Wade 11-6

European Championship nine-darters:

2011: Adrian Lewis v Raymond van Barneveld

2014: Michael van Gerwen v Raymond van Barneveld

2017: Kyle Anderson v Michael van Gerwen

2020:  Jose de Sousa v Jeffrey de Zwaan

2024 PDC event winners

Televised Events

Luke Humphries: World Darts Championship

Stephen Bunting: The Masters

Dimitri Van den Bergh: UK Open

Luke Littler: Premier League

England: World Cup of Darts

Luke Humphries: World Matchplay

Luke Littler: World Series of Darts Finals

Mike De Decker: World Grand Prix

World Series of Darts Global Events

Luke Littler: Bahrain Darts Masters

Michael van Gerwen: Dutch Darts Masters

Rob Cross: US Darts Masters

Gerwyn Price: Nordic Darts Masters

Luke Littler: Poland Darts Masters

Gerwyn Price: Australian Darts Masters

Luke Humphries: New Zealand Darts Masters

European Tour Events

Luke Littler: Belgian Darts Open

Luke Humphries: German Darts Grand Prix

Martin Schindler: International Darts Open

Gary Anderson: European Darts Grand Prix

Luke Littler: Austrian Darts Open

Rob Cross: Baltic Sea Darts Open

Josh Rock: Dutch Darts Championship

Dave Chisnall: European Darts Open

Peter Wright: German Darts Championship

Dave Chisnall: Flanders Darts Trophy

Michael van Gerwen: Hungarian Darts Trophy

Martin Schindler: Swiss Darts Trophy

Luke Humphries: Czech Darts Open

Players Championship Events

Luke Littler: PC1

Gary Anderson: PC2

Ryan Searle: PC3

Damon Heta: PC4

Raymond van Barneveld: PC5

Dave Chisnall: PC6

Chris Dobey: PC7

Danny Noppert: PC8

Michael Smith: PC9

Brendan Dolan: PC10

Alan Soutar: PC11

Dimitri Van den Bergh: PC12

Ross Smith: PC13

Jonny Clayton: PC14

Luke Littler: PC15

Mike De Decker: PC16

Josh Rock: PC17

Damon Heta: PC18

Chris Dobey: PC19

Luke Littler: PC20

Michael van Gerwen: PC21

Gary Anderson: PC22

Dave Chisnall: PC23

Wessel Nijman: PC24

Chris Dobey: PC25

Luke Humphries: PC26

Michael van Gerwen: PC27

Wesley Plaisier: PC28