Humphries withdraws from European Championship

World number two Luke Humphries pulls out of the European Championship because of gastroenteritis.

Humphries won the PDC World Championship title in January 2024

Humphries was coming into the tournament on the back of winning the World Grand Prix prior to reaching the final of the Swiss Darts Trophy final, which he lost to Jonny Clayton.

Kim Huybrechts will come in as a replacement as the Belgian is the highest-ranked player from the 2026 European Tour rankings who had not qualified.

Huybrechts will face Ryan Searle when the European Championship starts in Dortmund on Thursday, while Gerwyn Price will play Rob Cross and defending champion Gian van Veen will take on Andrew Gilding among the night's eight matches.

World number one and PDC world champion Luke Littler will start his challenge on Friday with a match against William O'Connor.

Source: BBC Sport