European Championship expands to 48 players in 2027
The 2027 PDC European Championship expands to 48 players and £1m in Dortmund. See the dates, reported byes and what changes from 2026.
The PDC European Championship will expand from 32 to 48 players in 2027, with six days of play and a £1 million total prize fund. The expansion was reported on 25 September 2026 by Sky Sports and Dartsnews.
The tournament is scheduled for 26–31 October 2027 at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, according to PDC Europe’s official event listing. It remains in Dortmund; the change is to the field size and duration, not a move to a new host city.
Details as of 6 October 2026.
What changes from 2026?
| Detail | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 32 | 48 |
| Playing days | Four | Six |
| Dates | 22–25 October | 26–31 October |
| Venue | Westfalenhalle, Dortmund | Westfalenhalle, Dortmund |
The 2026 details come from PDC Europe’s event page; the 2027 dates and venue are listed on its 2027 page, with the expanded field corroborated by the September reports above.
The increase adds 16 places, a 50% larger field: (48 − 32) ÷ 32 × 100 = 50%. That means more opportunities to enter the finals, not a corresponding increase in any particular player’s chance of winning.
The announced £1 million is the whole tournament’s prize fund, not the winner’s cheque. The September expansion reports do not specify the winner’s share or a round-by-round payout schedule.
How will a 48-player draw work?
Darts World’s analysis of the 2027 changes reports that the top 16 will receive byes into the second round. A bye means advancing without playing an opening-round match. This is a reported format detail; PDC Europe’s 2027 event listing does not set out the draw or seeding rules.
Under that reported structure:
- The other 32 entrants play 16 first-round matches.
- Those 16 winners join the 16 players with byes.
- The second round therefore contains 32 players.
That would leave five matches to win for a player entering in round two, or six for someone starting in round one. Those counts follow from the reported knockout structure; they do not establish the leg lengths for each round.
Does “48 players” mean the world’s top 48?
Do not read the announcement as automatic entry for the top 48 in the world rankings. The European Championship is the European Tour’s season finale. For 2026, PDC Europe explicitly identifies the qualifiers as the top 32 on the European Tour Order of Merit, rather than the world ranking.
The larger 2027 field extends access to that finale, but the final qualification and seeding rules should govern any player-specific calculation. A 2026 qualifying position is not a guaranteed 2027 place. Our Gary Anderson European Championship qualification explainer covers the separate 2026 race.
European Championship and European Open are different events
The European Open is a new tournament scheduled for 18–20 June 2027 in Salzburg, with a £750,000 total prize fund and a field that will include all PDC Tour Card holders, according to Sky Sports.
It is not the new name for the European Championship. The 48-player expansion applies to the October tournament in Dortmund.