# 2008 European Championship (darts)

The 2008 PartyPoker.net European Championship was the inaugural edition of the Professional Darts Corporation tournament, which thereafter was promoted as the annual European Championship, matching top European players qualifying to play against the highest ranked players from the PDC Order of Merit.
Played from 30 October–2 November 2008 at the Südbahnhof in Frankfurt, Germany, the inaugural tournament featured a field of 32 players and £200,000 in prize money, with a £50,000 winner's purse going to Phil Taylor.

## Format

First round — best of nine legs (by two legs) Second round — best of seventeen legs (ditto) Quarter-finals — best of seventeen legs (ditto) Semi-finals — best of twenty-one legs (ditto) Final — best of twenty-one legs (ditto)
Each game had to be won by two clear legs, except that a game went to a sudden death leg if a further six legs did not separate the players; for example, a first round match played out to 7-7 is then decided with one sudden death leg.

## Prize money

A total of £200,000 was on offer to the players, divided based on the following performances:
| Position (no. of players) | Position (no. of players) | Prize money (Total: £200,000) |
| Winner | (1) | £50,000 |
| Runner-Up | (1) | £25,000 |
| Semi-finalists | (2) | £12,500 |
| Quarter-finalists | (4) | £8,500 |
| Last 16 (second round) | (8) | £4,000 |
| Last 32 (first round) | (16) | £2,000 |
| Highest checkout | (1) | £2,000 |

## Qualification

The top 16 players from the PDC Order of Merit after the 2008 Sky Poker World Grand Prix automatically qualified for the event. Then the top 8 non-qualified players from the 2008 Players Championship Order of Merit after the October German Darts Trophy in Dinslaken, Germany joined them to make a field of 24.
The main European contingent then came from the following: the leading 4 non-qualified players from the 2008 Continental Europe Order of Merit following the October German Darts Trophy in Dinslaken, the top two non-qualified players from the German Darts Corporation rankings on October 25, and the last two places from a qualifier event held in Dinslaken on October 26 - an event which was open to any player with a full PDPA membership.
| PDC Top 16 Phil Taylor (champion) Raymond van Barneveld (quarter-finals) James Wade (second round) John Part (first round) Terry Jenkins (first round) Colin Lloyd (first round) Andy Hamilton (first round) Wayne Mardle (second round) Adrian Lewis (runner-up) Alan Tabern (quarter-finals) Dennis Priestley (second round) Roland Scholten (first round) Mervyn King (second round) Colin Osborne (first round) Ronnie Baxter (quarter-finals) Peter Manley (semi-finals) | Players Championship qualifiers Denis Ovens (second round) Robert Thornton (semi-finals) Mark Walsh (quarter-finals) Chris Mason (first round) Kevin Painter (first round) Vincent van der Voort (first round) Alex Roy (first round) Wayne Jones (first round) European qualifiers Carlos Rodríguez (second round) Mensur Suljović (second round) Jelle Klaasen (second round) Jan van der Rassel (first round) | German Darts Corporation qualifiers Andree Welge (first round) Hannes Schnier (first round) Dinslaken event qualifiers Jacko Barry (first round) Andy Jenkins (first round) |

## Draw and results

| First round (best of 9 legs) 30-31 October | First round (best of 9 legs) 30-31 October | First round (best of 9 legs) 30-31 October | Second round (best of 17 legs) 1 November | Second round (best of 17 legs) 1 November | Second round (best of 17 legs) 1 November | Quarter-finals (best of 17 legs) 2 November | Quarter-finals (best of 17 legs) 2 November | Quarter-finals (best of 17 legs) 2 November | Semi-finals (best of 21 legs) 2 November | Semi-finals (best of 21 legs) 2 November | Semi-finals (best of 21 legs) 2 November | Final (best of 21 legs) 2 November | Final (best of 21 legs) 2 November | Final (best of 21 legs) 2 November |
| 1 | Phil Taylor 105.98 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Jacko Barry 79.44 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Jacko Barry 79.44 | 1 | 1 | Phil Taylor 113.92 | 9 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Mervyn King 101.31 | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Mervyn King 101.19 | 6 | | Mervyn King 101.31 | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Wayne Jones 95.13 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Wayne Jones 95.13 | 4 | | | | 1 | Phil Taylor 103.27 | 9 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | Mark Walsh 95.51 | 5 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Wayne Mardle 89.46 | 5 | | | | | | | Mark Walsh 95.51 | 5 | | | | | | |
| | Andree Welge 71.26 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Andree Welge 71.26 | 0 | 8 | Wayne Mardle 92.74 | 6 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Mark Walsh 96.76 | 9 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Colin Osborne 95.46 | 4 | | Mark Walsh 96.76 | 9 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Mark Walsh 104.01 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Mark Walsh 104.01 | 6 | | | | | | | 1 | Phil Taylor 113.33 | 11 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Robert Thornton 102.12 | 7 | | | |
| 5 | Terry Jenkins 95.74 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | Robert Thornton 102.12 | 7 | | | |
| | Carlos Rodriguez 93.92 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Carlos Rodriguez 93.92 | 7 | | Carlos Rodriguez 86.03 | 5 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Ronnie Baxter 87.46 | 9 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Ronnie Baxter 85.74 | 6 | | Ronnie Baxter 87.46 | 9 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Vincent van der Voort 93.39 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Vincent van der Voort 93.39 | 4 | | | | | Ronnie Baxter 89.61 | 5 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | Robert Thornton 92.26 | 9 | | | | | | |
| 4 | John Part 90.07 | 3 | | | | | | | Robert Thornton 92.26 | 9 | | | | | | |
| | Robert Thornton 94.43 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Robert Thornton 94.43 | 5 | | Robert Thornton 91.77 | 9 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Mensur Suljović 89.47 | 7 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Roland Scholten 51.57 | 1 | | Mensur Suljović 89.47 | 7 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Mensur Suljović 81.11 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Mensur Suljović 81.11 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | 1 | Phil Taylor 104.35 | 11 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Adrian Lewis 96.56 | 5 |
| 2 | Raymond van Barneveld 88.38 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Adrian Lewis 96.56 | 5 |
| | Andy Jenkins 78.98 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Andy Jenkins 78.98 | 2 | 2 | Raymond van Barneveld 107.02 | 9 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Dennis Priestley 102.35 | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Dennis Priestley 93.43 | 5 | | Dennis Priestley 102.35 | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Jan van der Rassel 79.13 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Jan van der Rassel 79.13 | 3 | | | | 2 | Raymond van Barneveld 102.49 | 2 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | Adrian Lewis 108.62 | 9 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Andy Hamilton 94.81 | 1 | | | | | | | Adrian Lewis 108.62 | 9 | | | | | | |
| | Denis Ovens 95.97 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Denis Ovens 95.97 | 5 | | Denis Ovens 87.98 | 5 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Adrian Lewis 89.53 | 9 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Adrian Lewis 93.27 | 5 | | Adrian Lewis 89.53 | 9 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Hannes Schnier 77.86 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Hannes Schnier 77.86 | 2 | | | | | | | | Adrian Lewis 92.06 | 11 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Peter Manley 90.45 | 7 | | | |
| 6 | Colin Lloyd 84.79 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | Peter Manley 90.45 | 7 | | | |
| | Jelle Klaasen 96.75 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Jelle Klaasen 96.75 | 5 | | Jelle Klaasen 97.87 | 6 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Alan Tabern 93.56 | 9 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Alan Tabern 94.29 | 5 | | Alan Tabern 93.56 | 9 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Chris Mason 90.28 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Chris Mason 90.28 | 1 | | | | | Alan Tabern 85.51 | 4 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | Peter Manley 85.77 | 9 | | | | | | |
| 3 | James Wade 94.18 | 5 | | | | | | | Peter Manley 85.77 | 9 | | | | | | |
| | Alex Roy 85.84 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Alex Roy 85.84 | 1 | 3 | James Wade 88.53 | 9 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Peter Manley 89.23 | 11 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Peter Manley 88.29 | 5 | | Peter Manley 89.23 | 11 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Kevin Painter 92.08 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Scores after player's names are three-dart averages (total points scored divided by darts thrown and multiplied by 3)
All games had to be won by 2 clear legs, if after six more legs the players still couldn't be separated, a sudden death leg would take place to decide the winner. i.e. if Round One matches went 7-7, there would have been a decider.

## Television coverage and sponsorship

The PDC announced on 12 August 2008 that ITV4 would broadcast the entire event live. This was the second PDC darts tournament that ITV4 has broadcast, after the inaugural Grand Slam of Darts - after its rating success ITV chose to broadcast this event as well as the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts.
The tournament was sponsored by PartyPoker.net, which has also sponsored other darts championships: the US Open, the Las Vegas Desert Classic and the German Darts Championship.