European Championship Details Confirmed

THE inaugural European Championship will be held at the Südbahnhof in Frankfurt from October 30-November 2.

The 32-player, £200,000 event will be played over four days and screened live in the UK on ITV4.

The first round will be played over Thursday October 30 and Friday October 31, with eight games played on each night over the best of nine legs.

The second round will be played on Saturday November 1 in two sessions, with the quarter-finals on Sunday afternoon and the semi-finals and final being played on Sunday evening.

The tournament will feature the top 16 players from the PDC Order of Merit, following the Sky Poker World Grand Prix.

They will be joined by the next eight non-qualified players from the Players Championship Order of Merit and the next four non-qualified players from the Continental Europe Order of Merit following the Players Championship event in Dinslaken on Saturday October 25.

Two of the remaining places will be allocated to the top two non-qualified players from the German Darts Corporation rankings at October 25, with the final two spots being filled from a qualifier to be held on Sunday October 26 in Dinslaken.

The qualifier will be open to any darts player and entry will be available via the GDC. Any players who enter the qualifier but qualify automatically will be refunded their entry fee.

2008 European Championship Session Times
Thursday October 30

6.30pm-11.35pm (local time)/5.30pm-10.35pm (GMT)
8x First Round
Ticket Price: 17.95 euro plus booking fee

Friday October 31
6.30pm-11.35pm (local time)/5.30pm-10.35pm (GMT)
8x First Round
Ticket Price: 17.95 euro plus booking fee

Saturday November 1
1pm-4pm (local time)/12pm-3pm (GMT)
3x Second Round
Ticket Price: 17.95 euro plus booking fee

6.45pm-11.35pm (local time)/5.45pm-10.35pm (GMT)
5x Second Round
Ticket Price: 23.60 euro plus booking fee

Sunday November 2
2pm-6pm (local time)/1pm-5pm (GMT)
Quarter-Finals
Ticket Price: 23.60 euro plus booking fee

7pm-11.35pm (local time)/6pm-10.35pm (GMT)
Semi-Finals
Final
Ticket Price: 23.60 euro plus booking fee

Tickets
Tickets are now available from www.frankfurt-ticket.de by clicking here

Travel
The Südbahnhof is around ten minutes away from the main train station in Frankfurt.
Frankfurt Main airport is around 20 minutes' drive from the venue, and Frankfurt Hahn is around one hour.

Prize Fund

Winner £50,000
Runner-Up £25,000
Semi-Finalists £12,500
Quarter-Finalists £8,500
Second Round Losers £4,000
First Round Losers £2,000
Total £200,000

Format
First Round - Best of nine legs
Second Round - Best of 17 legs
Quarter-Finals - Best of 17 legs
Semi-Finals - Best of 21 legs
Final - Best of 21 legs
Tie-Break Rule: Each game must be won by two clear legs. A game will go to a sudden-death leg if a further maximum of six legs cannot separate the players, i.e. if a first round game reaches 7-7.

John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic - Killarney
Players who lose in the first round on Thursday will still be able to compete in the John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic Players Championship event in Killarney on Sunday November 2.
Ryanair operate a flight from Frankfurt (Hahn) Airport to Kerry at 12.15pm on Friday, although there is no direct Saturday flight.
However, it is possible to fly to London Stansted on the Saturday and on to Kerry, with a flight from London Stansted to Kerry at 6.20pm.
Players who enter the John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic but are still involved in the European Championship will be refunded their entry fee, and the draw for the Players Championship will not be made until Saturday to reflect any players who will/will not be attending.