2018 German Darts Open

Darts tournamentTemplate:SHORTDESC:Darts tournament
The **2018 German Darts Open** was the third of thirteen PDC European Tour events on the 2018 PDC Pro Tour. The tournament took place at Saarlandhalle, Saarbrücken, Germany, between 13–15 April 2018. It featured a field of 48 players and £135,000 in prize money, with £25,000 going to the winner.

Peter Wright was the defending champion after defeating Benito van de Pas 6–5 in the final of the 2017 tournament, but he was knocked out in the second round of the tournament by Max Hopp.

Hopp went on to win his first PDC senior event, after defeating Michael Smith 8–7 in the final.

Hopp also became the first Host Nation Qualifier to make the final of an event of the PDC European Tour. It also marks the first time a German player won a PDC tour event. Noticeably, Hopp won both his semi-final (against Rob Cross) and final (against Smith) match with a 121 finish on the bullseye, with his opponents waiting on a two-dart finish.

## Prize money

The prize fund remained at £135,000 for the 2018 PDC European Tour events.

Prize money will count towards the PDC Order of Merit, the PDC ProTour Order of Merit and the European Tour Order of Merit, with one exception: should a seeded player lose in the second round (last 32), their prize money will not count towards any Orders of Merit, although they still receive the full prize money payment.

This is how the prize money was divided:

## Qualification and format

The top 16 entrants from the PDC ProTour Order of Merit on 7 March automatically qualified for the event and were seeded in the second round.

The remaining 32 places went to players from five qualifying events – 18 from the UK Qualifier (held in Barnsley on 9 March), eight from the West/South European Qualifier (held on 12 April), four from the Host Nation Qualifier (held on 12 April), one from the Nordic & Baltic Qualifier (held on 27 January) and one from the East European Qualifier (held on 27 January).

Simon Whitlock withdrew with illness on the day of the tournament, so Daniel Larsson, who was due to face him in round 2, was given a bye to round 3.

The following players took part in the tournament:

1. Michael van Gerwen  *(Quarter-finals)*
2. Peter Wright  *(Second round)*
3. Rob Cross  *(Semi-finals)*
4. Michael Smith  *(Runner-up)*
5. Daryl Gurney  *(Third round)*
6. Mensur Suljović  *(Third round)*
7. Joe Cullen  *(Quarter-finals)*
8. Dave Chisnall  *(Third round)*
9. Ian White  *(Semi-finals)*
10. ~~Simon Whitlock  *(Withdrew)*~~
11. Gerwyn Price  *(Quarter-finals)*
12. Mervyn King  *(Quarter-finals)*
13. Jelle Klaasen  *(Third round)*
14. Darren Webster  *(Third round)*
15. Benito van de Pas  *(Third round)*
16. Steve Beaton  *(Second round)*
* William O'Connor  *(First round)*
* Terry Jenkins  *(First round)*
* Kirk Shepherd  *(Second round)*
* Luke Humphries  *(Second round)*
* Nathan Aspinall  *(First round)*
* Alan Tabern  *(Third round)*
* James Wade  *(Second round)*
* Richard North  *(First round)*
* Robert Thornton  *(First round)*
* Paul Nicholson  *(Second round)*
* Steve West  *(Second round)*
* Keegan Brown  *(First round)*
* Ricky Williams  *(First round)*
* Matthew Edgar  *(First round)*
* Steve Lennon  *(Second round)*
* Luke Woodhouse  *(First round)*
* Cameron Menzies  *(Second round)*
* Simon Stevenson  *(First round)*
* Jermaine Wattimena  *(Second round)*
* Maik Kuivenhoven  *(Second round)*
* Dimitri Van den Bergh  *(Second round)*
* Jan Dekker  *(First round)*
* Danny Noppert  *(Second round)*
* José Justicia  *(Second round)*
* Zoran Lerchbacher  *(First round)*
* Ronny Huybrechts  *(First round)*

**Host Nation Qualifier**
* **Max Hopp**  **(Champion)**
* René Eidams  *(Second round)*
* Tobias Müller  *(First round)*
* Dragutin Horvat  *(First round)*

**Nordic & Baltic Qualifier**
* Daniel Larsson  *(Third round)*

**East European Qualifier**
* Tytus Kanik  *(First round)*

## References

1. ↑ Wright Wins HappyBet German Darts Open. PDC.
2. ↑ Incredible Hopp Wins First Euro Title. PDC.
3. ↑ European Tour 2018 Info. PDPA. Retrieved on March 24, 2018.
4. ↑ European Tour Rule Changes Announced. PDC (19 January 2017).
5. ↑ ET3 & ET4 Entries Confirmed. PDC.
6. ↑ German Darts Open Draw & Schedule. PDC.