European Darts Open Leverkusen

Darts in the Bayer City — the Arrow Spectacle on the Rhine

When the PDC European Tour stops in Leverkusen, the Ostermann-Arena becomes a darts temple. For three days, the same ritual applies as at any PDC major: Walk-on with pyrotechnics, stage in the middle of the arena, high-intensity 180s, cheering crowd in fancy dress, beer in hand, stage showmaster Russ Bray or another caller announcing every 180 with „One hundred and eighty!“. The European Darts Open has been a permanent fixture on the tour for years and is one of the most successful venues outside Great Britain.

10th of 15 Stages — The Tour Position

The European Darts Open 2026 is stage 10 of 15 of the PDC European Tour. This places the tournament in the late summer section of the season, when players have already found their tour rhythm. The field includes the top players from the PDC Order of Merit, combined with qualifiers from regional qualifiers. Usual participants at this level: Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Luke Littler, Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall, Michael Smith.

Format and Rules

The tournament is played in a knockout system with the Double-Out mode (match ends on a double). Early rounds are played in a best-of-11-legs format, the semi-finals in best-of-13, and the final in the best-of-15-legs format. This means match times range from 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on the course of the game.

Schedule and Sessions

Friday, July 10, 2026: Afternoon session 1 PM–5 PM, Evening session 7 PM–11 PM. Saturday, July 11: Afternoon session 1 PM–5 PM, Evening session 7 PM–11 PM. Sunday, July 12: Afternoon session 1 PM–5 PM with quarter-finals and semi-finals, the grand final starting at 7 PM. Tickets are valid per session — so you can pick specific sessions or purchase a day or weekend ticket.

Prize Money and Aspinall's Title Defence

The prize money in 2026 is £230,000. The winner receives £35,000, the runner-up £15,000, semi-finalists £8,000, and first-round participants £2,000. Defending champion is Nathan Aspinall, who won the European Darts Open 2025 with an 8:6 victory over Damon Heta. Aspinall, one of the most charismatic players in the PDC, will be among the top favorites in 2026 — alongside Humphries, Van Gerwen, Littler, and Price.

Ostermann-Arena — The Leverkusen Sports Hall

The Ostermann-Arena (officially BayArena only for football — Ostermann-Arena for other events) has a capacity of approx. 4,500 seats for indoor sports events and is the home venue for Bayer Giants Leverkusen (basketball) and TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen Handball. For the darts major, it will be reconfigured with a central stage, tiered seating, and TV lighting. The atmosphere is intimate — unlike large arenas with 10,000+ seats, every throw can be experienced up close here.

TV Broadcast — PDC TV, DAZN

The tournament will be broadcast live: PDC TV (international stream with subscription), DAZN (German broadcast in D/A/CH), and PDC Europe's social media channels. This makes the European Darts Open 2026 viewable live in dozens of countries — making tickets on-site even more valuable.

Darts in Germany — The Growing Scene

Germany is the second-largest PDC market in the world after Great Britain. The European Darts Open in Leverkusen, along with the German Darts Masters in Dortmund (part of the World Series of Darts from 2023) and the German Darts Grand Prix in Munich, is one of the three German PDC major stops. This density of venues is clear: Darts is no longer a niche in Germany, but mainstream — driven by growing TV ratings, players like Gabriel Clemens („The German Giant“), and the phenomenon Max Hopp.