ADRIAN LEWIS will begin the defence of his European Championship title against Jelle Klaasen when the £250,000 tournament is held in Muelheim from October 24-26, while Michael van Gerwen faces Justin Pipe and Phil Taylor drew Steve Beaton.
Lewis overcame 2012 champion Simon Whitlock to win the title at the RWE Sporthalle last year, and will meet Dutch ace Klaasen on the opening day of this year's event.
Whitlock drew Raymond van Barneveld in a tasty first round fixture, while new partypoker.com World Grand Prix winner Michael van Gerwen will open his bid to win back-to-back major titles against Justin Pipe.
Phil Taylor, who won the first four stagings of the European Championship, will meet Steve Beaton in the first round in a repeat of the 2009 final, with the pair also having faced off in the World Grand Prix last Monday.
World Championship finalist Peter Wright, the number four seed, plays Dutch debutant Benito van de Pas, World Grand Prix runner-up James Wade drew Ronny Huybrechts, Gary Anderson plays Terry Jenkins and Dave Chisnall meets Germany's Jyhan Artut.
Austrian debutant Rowby-John Rodriguez will play Robert Thornton, who hit a nine-darter in the World Grand Prix, while Mensur Suljovic drew Jamie Caven.
Norway's Robert Wagner, who qualified through a play-off in Scandinavia, will take on Holland's Vincent van der Voort, while Dutch debutant Christian Kist plays Mervyn King.
2012 runner-up Wes Newton opens up against Ian White, while Brendan Dolan faces emerging young star Michael Smith, who won a European Tour event in Germany last month.
World Grand Prix semi-finalist Stephen Bunting will make his European Championship debut against Andy Hamilton and Dean Winstanley takes on Belgian ace Kim Huybrechts.
The 2014 European Championship will be televised live on ITV4 from October 24-26.
The first round will be split across two sessions on Friday October 24, with the second round taking place on Saturday October 25, before the event concludes on Sunday October 26 with the quarter-finals in the afternoon session and the semi-finals and final in the evening session.
2014 European Championship
First Round Draw & Tournament Draw Bracket
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Justin Pipe
Brendan Dolan v Michael Smith
Dave Chisnall (8) v Jyhan Artut
Wes Newton v Ian White
Simon Whitlock (5) v Raymond van Barneveld
Vincent van der Voort v Robert Wagner
Peter Wright (4) v Benito van de Pas
Dean Winstanley v Kim Huybrechts
Phil Taylor (2) v Steve Beaton
Andy Hamilton v Stephen Bunting
Gary Anderson (7) v Terry Jenkins
Rowby-John Rodriguez v Robert Thornton
James Wade (6) v Ronny Huybrechts
Christian Kist v Mervyn King
Adrian Lewis (3) v Jelle Klaasen
Jamie Caven v Mensur Suljovic
Schedule of Play
Friday October 24
Afternoon Session (1.45pm-6pm local time, 12.45pm-5pm UK)
First Round
Wes Newton v Ian White
Vincent van der Voort v Robert Wagner
Rowby-John Rodriguez v Robert Thornton
Jamie Caven v Mensur Suljovic
Brendan Dolan v Michael Smith
Dave Chisnall v Jyhan Artut
Dean Winstanley v Kim Huybrechts
Christian Kist v Mervyn King
Evening Session (8pm-12am local time, 7pm-11pm UK)
First Round
Peter Wright v Benito van de Pas
Andy Hamilton v Stephen Bunting
Gary Anderson v Terry Jenkins
James Wade v Ronny Huybrechts
Adrian Lewis v Jelle Klaasen
Michael van Gerwen v Justin Pipe
Phil Taylor v Steve Beaton
Simon Whitlock v Raymond van Barneveld
Saturday October 25
Afternoon Session (1.45pm-6pm local time, 12.45pm-5pm UK)
Second Round
Anderson/Jenkins v Rodriguez/Thornton
Chisnall/Artut v Newton/White
Lewis/Klaasen v Caven/Suljovic
Wright/van de Pas v Winstanley/K Huybrechts
Evening Session (8pm-12am local time, 7pm-11pm UK)
Second Round
Whitlock/van Barneveld v van der Voort/Wagner
Taylor/Beaton v Hamilton/Bunting
Van Gerwen/Pipe v Dolan/Smith
Wade/R Huybrechts v Kist/King
Sunday October 26
Afternoon Session (1.45pm-6pm local time, 12.45pm-5pm UK)
Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (7.45pm-12am local time, 6.45pm-11pm UK)
Semi-Finals
Final
Format
First Round - Best of 11 legs
Second Round - Best of 19 legs
Quarter-Finals - Best of 19 legs
Semi-Finals - Best of 21 legs
Final - Best of 21 legs
The draw was made by Wayne Mardle in the PDC's exclusive On The Wire programme - watch here: