2008 European Championship Darts
| European Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament information | |||
| Dates | 30 October – 2 November 2008 | ||
| Venue | Südbahnhof | ||
| Location | Frankfurt | ||
| Country | Germany | ||
| Organisation(s) | PDC | ||
| Format | Legs Final – best of 21 |
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| Prize fund | £200,000 | ||
| Winners share | £50,000 | ||
| High checkout |
160  Denis Ovens Robert Thornton
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| Champion(s) | |||
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Phil Taylor
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The 2008 European Championship was the inaugural edition of the Professional Darts Corporation tournament—which thereafter was promoted as the annual European Darts Championship, matching top European players qualifying to play against the highest ranked players from the PDC Order of Merit. Played from October 30 to November 2 at the Südbahnhof in Frankfurt, Germany, the inaugural tournament featured a field of 32 players and £200,000 in prize money, with a £50,000 winner's purse going to Phil Taylor of England.
First round — best of nine legs (by two legs)
Second round — best of seventeen legs (ditto)
Quarter-finals — best of seventeen legs (ditto)
Semi-finals — best of twenty-one legs (ditto)
Final — best of twenty-one legs (ditto)
Each game had to be won by two clear legs, except that a game went to a sudden death leg if a further six legs did not separate the players; for example, a first round match played out to 7-7 is then decided with one sudden death leg.
A total of £200,000 was on offer to the players, divided based on the following performances:
Champion - £50,000
Runner-up - £25,000
Semi-finalists - £12,500
Quarter-finalists - £8,500
Second round losers - £4,000
First round losers - £2,000
Nine-dart jackpot - Unknown
Highest checkout - £2,000
The top 16 players from the PDC Order of Merit after the 2008 Sky Poker World Grand Prix automatically qualified for the event. Then the top 8 non-qualified players from the 2008 Players Championship Order of Merit after the October German Darts Trophy in Dinslaken, Germany joined them to make a field of 24.
The main European contingent then came from the following: the leading 4 non-qualified players from the 2008 Continental Europe Order of Merit following the October German Darts Trophy in Dinslaken, the top two non-qualified players from the German Darts Corporation rankings on October 25, and the last two places from a qualifier event held in Dinslaken on October 26 - an event which was open to any player with a full PDPA membership.
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