World No 2 Luke Humphries has withdrawn from the 2026 European Championship in Dortmund after being diagnosed with gastroenteritis. The Englishman was set to make his sixth appearance at the event, having finished as runner-up last year.
Under PDC rules, Humphries will be directly replaced in the field by Kim Huybrechts, the highest-ranked non-qualified player in the 2026 European Tour rankings. Belgium's Huybrechts will now take on Ryan Searle on Thursday evening, with the winner set to face Danny Noppert or Stephen Bunting on Saturday.
World No 1 Luke Littler will face William O'Connor in his European Championship opener, while Gian van Veen will start his title defence against Andrew Gilding. After first round contests on Thursday and Friday, Saturday's action will see eight round-two ties played across the afternoon and evening sessions.
The quarter-finals take place on Sunday afternoon, ahead of the semi-finals and final on Sunday evening. The action gets under way at Dortmund's Westfalenhallen on Thursday, with a top prize of £150,000 up for grabs on Sunday October 25.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing