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Euro Stars Head To Germany – Watch on Bravo Tonight

PHIL TAYLOR opens his challenge for a third successive PartyPoker.net European Championship title on Thursday, when he takes on Co Stompe as the £200,000 tournament begins in Dinslaken, Germany.

UPDATE: I’m actually sitting in for Bravo on their twitter tonight – as a z list celebrity darts ‘guru’ – follow me and Bravo here; https://twitter.com/BRAVO_Darts for game by game comments and analysis.

Taylor has lifted the European Championship trophy in each of the past two years since the tournament was launched in 2008.

The world number one travels to the Stadthalle in Dinslaken on a high after winning his 11th World Matchplay last Sunday, as he seeks to win a fourth major title inside three months.

“Winning the World Matchplay was great and I’d love to go on and win the European Championship this weekend,” said Taylor. “I’m feeling great and playing well, and winning this would round off a perfect summer.”

Taylor takes on Co Stompe in the first round, with the Dutchman having defeated him in the 2008 German Darts Championship final.

“Co has done brilliantly in the last couple of years and he played superbly when he won the German Darts Championship, but that was a different day,” added Taylor.

“I put it behind me and so has Co, and we’ve played a few times since. He did well in the World Matchplay last week and I know he’ll want that to continue in Germany.”

Stompe followed that German Darts Championship victory with two World Championship quarter-final appearances, as well as winning a Players Championship a month ago and reaching the last eight in Blackpool.

“The win over Phil is in the past and you can’t dwell on that because it’s history,” said Stompe. “It’s a new game on Thursday and I’ve got a hard game against Phil.

“I’ve turned my game around, because I’ve been practising on my doubles and they went alright in Blackpool but my scoring let me down.

“I know I can play better than I did in Blackpool, and I’ll go up there on Thursday and hopefully give Phil a big fight.”

The tournament’s opening night will also feature a clash between two of the sport’s fastest throwers, Jelle Klaasen and Vincent van der Voort.

The Dutch pair have both enjoyed strong form in 2010, while Klaasen – a European Championship semi-finalist last year – reached the quarter-finals of last week’s World Matchplay with a slightly slower throwing style.

“I tried to slow down and it felt good,” he said. “I’m always trying to improve my game and I’ve tried something new on stage now, and I played well.

“I think I’ll try to play slower now in every tournament. It will be a hard match to play against Vincent because we travel all the time and are good friends, but when we get on stage we’re enemies and want to beat each other 6-0.”

The players ranked fourth and fifth in the world, Mervyn King and Terry Jenkins, have an opportunity to bounce back from first round exits in the World Matchplay when they face Barrie Bates and Germany’s Andree Welge respectively.

Simon Whitlock, the Australian who has jumped to eighth in the PDC Order of Merit following his run to the semi-finals of the World Matchplay, takes on two-time World Champion Dennis Priestley on his European Championship debut.

The tournament will open when Paul Nicholson, January’s totesport.com Players Championship Finals winner, faces Andy Smith – who had minor surgery on a leg injury a week ago but has previously won a Players Championship on the Dinslaken stage.

Gary Anderson, the UK Open finalist who has been troubled by a shoulder injury in recent weeks and lost to Klaasen in Blackpool, meets Jamie Caven, and number eight seed Mark Walsh faces Spanish debutant Antonio Alcinas.

World number two Raymond van Barneveld – who hit a nine-darter in the World Matchplay before losing to Taylor in the final – takes on Andy Hamilton on the second night of play, while number three seed James Wade faces Colin Lloyd.

German pair Tomas Seyler and Bernd Roith are in action on home soil, with Roith taking on Denis Ovens on his televised debut while Seyler meets Michael van Gerwen – the Dutch youngster who has been sidelined for the past month with a broken collarbone.

The PartyPoker.net European Championship is being shown live on Sport1 in Germany and on Bravo in the UK – Bravo can be found at channel 123 on Sky and 136 on Virgin Media.

Dave Gorman and James Richardson are presenting, and @bravo_darts and the Official European Championship Facebook page, will be hubs for interviews, scores, photos and behind-the-scenes information.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/European-Professional-Darts-Championships-2010-BRAVO/136193336412159?ref=ts