European Darts Championship in Dortmund’s Westfalenhalle with Gabriel Clemens
On Thursday evening (26 October 2023), Saarland darts pro Gabriel Clemens will be kicking off the European Darts Championship 2023 in Dortmund and competing for the championship title alongside the best players on the European Tour.
The European Darts Championship became the first major darts event in Germany in 2008, and set a standard for the future. After the PDC Europe majors returned to Dortmund last year, this year the legendary Westfalenhalle is once again hosting the sixteenth unofficial European championship. From 26 to 29 October, 25,000 fans will gather to experience three days of world-class darts in the Westfalenhalle.
The top 32 players in the European Tour Order of Merit, qualifying after thirteen European Tour events, will compete for the crowning glory of the European darts season and a total of 500,000 pounds in prize money.
With 24th place in this year’s European Tour rankings, the German Giant has qualified for the major tournament for the fourth year in a row. The Saarland player will be seeking to improve on his previous tournament performance at the upcoming event: at his first appearance in 2020 he was knocked out in the first round by Scot Peter Wright, in 2021 it was Australian Damon Heta, and in 2022 Jonny Clayton of Wales also ensured a first-round defeat.
To kick off the European Darts Championship on Thursday evening, Clemens will be facing a familiar opponent in Peter Wright, currently placed third in the PDC Order of Merit. This will be no easy task. The Scot (a former world number one) seems in good form and recently made it to the final of the German Darts Championship in Hildesheim, the final stop on the European Tour, ultimately losing to surprise winner Ricardo Pietreczko. Last year, Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright reached the European Championship’s quarter finals.
This top pro unbeatably has the most vibrant hairstyle and colourful outfit on the tour, but that does not make him unbeatable for the German number one: for example, in the third round of the 2021 World Darts Championship at the legendary Ally Pally, Gaga defeated the reigning world champion Peter Wright 4:3. Perhaps he will be able to provoke him again at a home game in Dortmund. To round off the European Tour 2023, the German Giant demonstrated rising form and respectable results by reaching his third quarter final of this year’s tour in Hildesheim. We are crossing our fingers for a good start to the European Championship in Dortmund for Gabriel Clemens, and wish him much luck and success.