2023 European Championship

Darts tournamentTemplate:SHORTDESC:Darts tournament
The **2023 Machineseeker European Championship** was the sixteenth edition of the Professional Darts Corporation's European Championship tournament, which saw the top players from the thirteen European tour events compete against each other. The tournament took place from 26–29 October 2023 at the Westfalenhallen in Dortmund, Germany.

Ross Smith was the defending champion, having defeated Michael Smith 11–8 in the 2022 final, but for the fifth year in a row, the defending champion was defeated in the first round, as Smith lost 6–3 to Ricardo Pietreczko.

Peter Wright won his second European Championship title, by defeating James Wade 11–6 in the final, in a repeat of the 2020 final.

## Prize money

The 2023 European Championship had a total prize fund of £600,000, an increase of £100,000 from its previous edition.

The following is the breakdown of the fund:

 **First round** | (16) | £7,500

## Qualification

The 2023 tournament continued the now established qualification system whereby the top 32 players from the European Tour Order of Merit qualified for the tournament. The Order of Merit is solely based on prize money won in the thirteen European tour events during the season.

As with the previous tournaments, players were drawn in a fixed bracket by their seeded order with the top qualifier playing the 32nd, the second playing the 31st and so on.

The following players qualified for the tournament:

1. Dave Chisnall  *(First round)*
2. Luke Humphries  *(Quarter-finals)*
3. Michael van Gerwen  *(Quarter-finals)*
4. Gerwyn Price  *(Quarter-finals)*
5. Rob Cross  *(Second round)*
6. Damon Heta  *(First round)*
7. Dirk van Duijvenbode  *(First round)*
8. Michael Smith  *(Second round)*
9. **Peter Wright**  **(Champion)**
10. Jonny Clayton  *(First round)*
11. Josh Rock  *(First round)*
12. Danny Noppert  *(Semi-finals)*
13. Nathan Aspinall  *(Second round)*
14. Ricardo Pietreczko  *(Second round)*
15. Krzysztof Ratajski  *(Second round)*
16. Martin Schindler  *(First round)*
17. Stephen Bunting  *(Second round)*
18. Joe Cullen  *(First round)*
19. Ross Smith  *(First round)*
20. Ryan Searle  *(First round)*
21. Andrew Gilding  *(First round)*
22. Daryl Gurney  *(Second round)*
23. José de Sousa  *(Second round)*
24. Gabriel Clemens  *(First round)*
25. Raymond van Barneveld  *(First round)*
26. James Wade  *(Runner-up)*
27. Gian van Veen  *(Semi-finals)*
28. Dimitri Van den Bergh  *(First round)*
29. Keane Barry  *(First round)*
30. Madars Razma  *(First round)*
31. Brendan Dolan  *(First round)*
32. Chris Dobey  *(Quarter-finals)*

## Draw

The draw was confirmed following the conclusion of the 2023 German Darts Championship on 15 October.

## References

1. ↑ 2022 PDC calendar confirmed up to end of October. Professional Darts Corporation.
2. ↑ Ross Smith sensationally wins first TV title at Cazoo European Championship. Professional Darts Corporation.
3. ↑ Wonderful Wright seals second European Championship crown in Dortmund. Professional Darts Corporation.
4. ↑ 2020 European Tour Order of Merit.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 2023 Machineseeker European Championship field and draw confirmed.