Luke Littler prepares to kick off his European Championship Darts campaign against William O'Connor on Thursday in Dortmund. The world champion, who previously dominated two out of three European Tour events this year, aims to recover from a disappointing series of performances, including quarter-final exits at the World Series of Darts Finals and World Grand Prix, along with a semi-final finish at the World Youth Championship.

Littler had aspirations of completing a historic clean sweep of major titles this year, including the World Series of Darts, European Championship, and others, but was thwarted by Jonny Clayton in the Netherlands.

In contrast, Gian van Veen, Dutch No. 1 and reigning champion, begins his title defense against Andrew Gilding. Van Veen, who recently set a new record average on the European Tour, cherishes his memories of Dortmund, where he claimed his first Premier title last year and later reached the World Championship final in January.

The 32-player field for the championship has been confirmed following the Dutch Darts Championship, where Niels Zonneveld secured his inaugural European Tour title. Zonneveld, now the fourth seed, will face Cameron Menzies.

Other notable matches include:

• Luke Humphries (12th seed) vs. Ryan Searle
• Ross Smith (top seed) vs. Karel Sedlacek
• Wessel Nijman (second seed) vs. Martin Schindler
• Gerwyn Price vs. Rob Cross
• James Wade vs. Damon Heta

The tournament commences at Westfalenhallen with a top prize of £150,000 up for grabs on October 25.