Nico Springer (Photo by Gábor Kiss/PDC Europe)
Martin Schindler will begin his defence of the Swiss Darts Trophy against Ricardo Pietreczko or Oskar Lukasiak, with the draw and schedule confirmed for this weekend’s showpiece in Basel.
The year’s penultimate Winamax European Tour event will see a 48-player field competing for the £30,000 top prize at St. Jakobshalle, as the race for World Grand Prix qualification concludes on Swiss soil.
Schindler prevailed in the tournament’s inaugural staging 12 months ago, and he will kick off his title defence against his World Cup partner Pietreczko or Swedish star Lukasiak.
The first round will feature 16 matches across two sessions, as newly crowned Hungarian Darts Trophy champion Niko Springer returns to action against Dutchman Richard Veenstra.
Springer’s breakthrough win in Budapest catapulted him into the World Grand Prix qualification spots, with Krzysztof Ratajski currently occupying the final provisional place in next month’s double-start event.
Ratajski will begin his campaign against Owen Bates, with William O’Connor and Raymond van Barneveld bidding to overhaul Poland’s number one in the World Grand Prix race.
O’Connor faces Northern Ireland’s World Cup champion Daryl Gurney in round one, while Van Barneveld will lock horns with European Tour debutant Ansh Sood in his opener.
Niels Zonneveld also harbours slender hopes of qualifying for next month’s World Grand Prix, and the left-hander will go up against Czech qualifier Dalibor Smolik for a place in round two.
Nathan Aspinall kicks off his challenge for a third European Tour title of the year against Denmark’s Andreas Toft Jorgensen, as 2023 UK Open champion Andrew Gilding plays Norway’s Cor Dekker.
One of the stand-out ties will see Wessel Nijman go head-to-head with European Champion Ritchie Edhouse, who is hoping to avoid the prospect of missing out on defending his title in Dortmund.
Austrian icon Mensur Suljovic and Grand Slam runner-up Martin Lukeman also collide, as Connor Scutt takes on World Championship quarter-finalist Callan Rydz.
The top 16 players on the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder will enter the tournament in round two on Saturday, as Schindler sets his sights on a fourth European Tour crown.
Luke Humphries also headlines this weekend’s action, and the world number one has been handed a tough opening assignment against Scutt or Rydz for a place at Finals Day.
Stephen Bunting – the number two seed in the absence of Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen – begins his bid against quick-fire Dutchman Chris Landman or Host Nation Qualifier Denis Schnetzer.
Aspinall and Toft Jorgensen will fight it out for the right to meet fourth seed Jonny Clayton, with James Wade poised to meet Ryan Joyce or Swiss newcomer Rocco Fulciniti.
Fifth seed Chris Dobey will play Suljovic or Lukeman, while Rob Cross continues his bid for European Championship qualification against Veenstra or high-flying Springer.
Australian number one Damon Heta faces a potential clash with Dutch legend Van Barneveld, with former European Champion Ross Smith awaiting Nijman or Edhouse in round two.
World Cup winner Josh Rock – a European Tour runner-up in Antwerp and Prague this autumn – will aim to maintain his superb form when he meets European Championship runner-up Jermaine Wattimena or Swiss number one Stefan Bellmont, who won through Thursday’s Host Nation Qualifier.
Gian van Veen will feature in an all-Dutch tie on Saturday, as Dirk van Duijvenbode and Jitse Van der Wal attempt to set up a showdown against the World Youth Champion.
Elsewhere, Hungarian Darts Trophy runner-up Danny Noppert will play Gurney or O’Connor a place in round three on Saturday afternoon.
