The first European Tour event of 2020 visits Hasselt, Belgium for the first time, the event will feature 48 players with 16 seeds and 32 qualifiers.

2020 Belgian Darts Championship - Draw Bracket
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Mike De Decker/Ron Meulenkamp
Michel Smith (16) v Luke Humphries/Ronny Huybrechts
Glen Durrant (8) v Justin Pipe/Mervyn King
Joe Cullen (9) v Martijn Kleermaker/Stephen Bunting
Peter Wright (4) v Andy Boulton/Andy Hamilton
Jermaine Wattimena (13) v Danny Noppert/Geert De Vos
Krzysztof Ratajski (5) v Callan Rydz/Gabriel Clemens
Rob Cross (12) v Michael Barnard/Damon Heta
Ian White (2) v Dirk van Duijvenbode/Luke Woodhouse
Jeffrey de Zwaan (15) v Ryan Harrington/Kim Huybrechts
James Wade (7) v Rowby-John Rodriguez/Steve Lennon
Nathan Aspinall (10) v Kai Fan Leung/Steve Beaton
Gerwyn Price (3) v Wesley Plaisier/Benjamin Pratnemer
Jamie Hughes (14) v Dimitri Van den Bergh/Derk Telnekes
Mensur Suljovic (6) v Darren Penhall/Ryan Searle
Jonny Clayton (11) v Steve West/Jeffrey van Egdom

Schedule of Play
Friday February 28
First Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 GMT)
Darren Penhall v Ryan Searle
Andy Boulton v Andy Hamilton
Kai Fan Leung v Steve Beaton
Luke Humphries v Ronny Huybrechts
Michael Barnard v Damon Heta
Wesley Plaisier v Benjamin Pratnemer
Martijn Kleermaker v Stephen Bunting
Justin Pipe v Mervyn King

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 GMT)
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Luke Woodhouse
Mike De Decker v Ron Meulenkamp
Callan Rydz v Gabriel Clemens
Danny Noppert v Geert De Vos
Ryan Harrington v Kim Huybrechts
Rowby-John Rodriguez v Steve Lennon
Steve West v Jeffrey van Egdom
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Derk Telnekes

Saturday February 29
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 GMT)
Michael Smith v Humphries/R Huybrechts
Joe Cullen v Kleermaker/Bunting
Krzysztof Ratajski v Rydz/Clemens
Glen Durrant v Pipe/King
Rob Cross v Barnard/Heta
Ian White v Van Duijvenbode/Woodhouse
Jermaine Wattimena v Noppert/De Vos
James Wade v Rodriguez/Lennon

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 GMT)
Nathan Aspinall v Leung/Beaton
Gerwyn Price v Plaisier/Pratnemer
Peter Wright v Boulton/Hamilton
Michael van Gerwen v De Decker/Meulenkamp
Jeffrey de Zwaan v Harrington/K Huybrechts
Jamie Hughes v Van den Bergh/Telnekes
Mensur Suljovic v Penhall/Searle
Jonny Clayton v West/Van Egdom

Sunday March 1
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 GMT)
Third Round

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 GMT)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final

Format
All games up to, and including, the quarter-finals, are the best of 11 legs. The semi-finals are the best of 13 legs and the final is the best of 15 legs.
Sunday's games played in Draw Bracket order.

Event Brief:

PLAYERS ARE REMINDED THAT TRAVEL TO AND FROM THE VENUE IS THEIR OWN RESPONSIBILITY.

Registration & Session Times

The draw for this event will be made on Thursday February 27 in Hasselt and will be displayed with the schedule of play on www.pdc.tv. This will also be emailed out to players to the email address which is in the PDC Online Entry System (please ensure this is current).

Please ensure that you read this document to familiarize yourself with the scheduled session time(s) for this event. Games from the Last 16 onwards on Sunday March 1 will be played in the Draw Bracket order.

Players will be required to register at the PDC Control Desk at the Players Entrance no later than one hour before the scheduled time of their match, the doors open for practice at 09.30am on each day. Any player who fails to register as above will face referral to the DRA. Should a player not register within 30 minutes of their scheduled match then they will be disqualified from the event without exception and not be entitled to receive any prize money from the event.

The PDC reserves the right to amend the schedule of play if necessary. Any amendments will be posted on www.pdc.tv and displayed in the practice room at the venue.

Any player who wishes to familiarize themselves with their stage before their first match may do so 90 minutes before the start of play, at approximately 11.30am on Friday or Saturday for players in the afternoon session, or approximately 5.30pm on Friday or Saturday for players in the evening session. Please liaise with the Tournament Director if you wish to do this. All players must have cleared the stage by the time that doors open to the public. Players are permitted to throw a maximum of nine darts during this visit.

Guest Passes

Players will be allowed two NON-TRANSFERABLE bona-fide guests each.  Please note that football shirts, shorts or ¾ length trousers of any nature will not be acceptable and persons wearing them will not be admitted.

Pre-Qualified players are required to register their guest’s name with carsten.arlt@pdc-europe.tv before midnight on the Thursday night immediately before the tournament begins. Qualifiers who win through on Thursday night will be required to register their guest following their qualification.

Playing Format

The format is best of 11 legs up to and including the quarter-finals, with the semi-finals the best of 13 legs and the final the best of 15 legs. The player on the left of the draw will throw first for the bull to determine who throws first in odd-numbered legs. As all matches will be played on stage markers will be provided for every match.

Prize Fund

Winner: £25,000
Runner-up: £10,000
Semi-Finalists: £6,500
Quarter-Finalists: £5,000
Last 16 losers: £3,000
Last 32 losers: £2,000
Last 48 losers: £1,000
Total: £140,000

Prize Money will be paid by BACS by the PDC within three weeks after the conclusion of the event. All prize money will be subject to a 2% PDPA levy. Non-PDPA members who entered via PDC Europe will be paid by PDC Europe.

Session Times

Friday February 28th
Afternoon Session (1300-1700 local time, 1200-1600 GMT)
First Round x8
Evening Session (1900-2300 local time, 1800-2300 GMT)
First Round x8

Saturday February 29th
Afternoon Session (1300-1700 local time, 1200-1600 GMT)
Second Round x8

Evening Session (1900-2300 local time, 1800-2300 GMT)
Second Round x8

Sunday March 1st
Afternoon Session (1300-1700 local time, 1200-1600 GMT)
Third Round x8

Evening Session (1900-2300 local time, 1800-2300 GMT)
Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals, Final

Draw

The draw for this event will be made on Thursday February 27 following the agreed procedure. The draw bracket will be posted at www.pdc.tv, alongside the schedule of play.

This event has 16 seeds, who are the top 16 ranked players from the One-Year Rolling Order of Merit entered into the tournament, and the seeds enter at the second round (last 32) stage, with the 32 qualifiers drawn against each other in the first round.

This tournament will be streamed live online and players should be aware that interviews may be required post-match and that all games are being broadcast worldwide. 

Player Behaviour

Players are reminded that it is their own responsibility to behave at all times in an acceptable manner so as to not bring the sport in to disrepute. Players who wish to watch other matches from the main arena are required to change out of their playing shirt before doing so.

Players who wish to practice during a session in which they are not competing will be allocated separate practice boards and are asked to dress appropriately for this area, with no shorts or other casual clothing permitted.

Players must not drink alcohol anywhere in the venue other than the Players’ Lounge. This is an offence which will be subject to disciplinary action and result in the player being asked to return to the Players’ Lounge or leave the venue.

If necessary, the Tournament Director has the power to stop a game and award the match to the opponent of any player whom he decides is behaving in a way which is damaging to the sport, the PDC, its sponsors or broadcasters.

Following the completion of the final, both players must remain on stage for the trophy presentation, and any subsequent interviews, until they are released from their obligations by the Tournament Director. Failure to do this will result in the player concerned being reported to the DRA.

Rules & Dress Code

Players are required to wear trousers, collared shirts and dark shoes. Darts Regulation Authority rules and regulations will be in place for this tournament, including dress code of: no jeans, trainers, t-shirts or shorts.

Players are advised to refer to the PDC’s published Order of Merit, which are available on www.pdc.tv, and the Darts Regulation Authority Rules, which are available at www.thedra.co.uk.

Players’ shirts should adhere to standard TV rules relating to sponsors’ logos, as clarified here:

Number and Location of Patches

Players will be permitted to wear up to four of their own patches on their shirt. Additionally, the PDC may provide players with up to two patches which must be worn in the spaces named below.

Right-handed players should position their own logos in the following order of priority:

• Lower Right chest (position 2)
• Upper Left chest (position 3)
• Lower Left chest (position 4)
• Left Sleeve (position 6)

The PDC’s two logos will be positioned, if required, as follows:

• Upper Right chest (TBC– position 1)
• Right Sleeve (TBC – position 5) 

FOR LEFT HANDED PLAYERS, POSITIONS ONE AND SIX ARE REVERSED WITH THE TITLE SPONSOR WORN IN POSITION SIX AND THE ASSOCIATE SPONSOR IN POSITION ONE AND POSITIONS TWO, THREE, FOUR AND FIVE BEING FREE FOR THEIR OWN SPONSORS.

General Advertising Regulations

Logos must NOT exceed six square inches in total area - this includes any background surrounding the logo. Acceptable dimensions are 6x1 inches, 2.45 x 2.45 inches, 4.55 x 1.33 inches, 3 x 2 inches. No other dimensions will be accepted.

No advertising logos are allowed on a player’s back or collar. PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO WEAR A SHIRT WHICH WILL NEED LOGOS COVERING UP AS THIS DOES NOT COME ACROSS PROFESSIONALLY ON TELEVISION.

No slogans (eg Drive Bill's cars) are allowed, only the company details (eg Bill's Cars).

Players’ individual logos which define their identity, for example initials, are permitted in moderation on their shirts.

Practice/Players Guest Room Regulations

Players are reminded of the following important regulations for the Practice/Players’ Guest Room area, which will be enforced by PDC Security and/or the Tournament Director and are in place for the benefit of competing players:

1. All mobile phones and internet browsing devices must be switched off or placed in silent mode. Please leave the room to make or take calls, texts or to use the internet.
2. Please be respectful of other players practising whilst holding conversations.
3. Strictly no photography in the Practice Room.
4. One guest per player will be admitted to the Practice Room (Dependant on space/size of the room).
5. Please ensure that you take all your belongings with you when you leave the Practice Room.
6. No items are to be left for signing without prior permission from the Tournament Director.
7. Players are responsible for the behaviour of their guests at all times.
8. Players will have a 30 minute ‘cooling-off period’ following matches, and after this time the player and their guest must vacate the Practice Room and move to the Players’ Lounge. Players must change out of their playing shirt prior to using the Players’ Lounge. This will not apply to the players who WIN their games on the Sunday.

If a player has any questions, please speak to the Tournament Director at the event.

Drinking

PLAYERS AND GUESTS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO BRING ALCOHOLIC DRINKS INTO THIS VENUE. All players and guests will be subject to bag searches on arrival at the venue.

Players are not permitted to drink anything but water during play.

Smoking

Smoking, including the use of e-cigarettes, is only permitted in the designated areas.

Contacts

PDC - Should any player have any queries whatsoever about this event please email PDC Tournament Director Graham Fairhurst via graham.fairhurst@pdc.tv

PDPA - Andy Scott andy@pdpa.co.uk