Rob Cross was the defending champion, having won the tournament for the second time with an 11–8 win over Michael van Gerwen in the 2021 final.[2] However, he became the fourth consecutive defending champion to be eliminated in the first round after losing 6–5 to James Wade.[3]
The 2022 European Championship had a total prize fund of £500,000, the same as its previous edition.[5]
The following is the breakdown of the fund:
Position (no. of players)
Prize money (Total: £500,000)
Winner
(1)
£120,000
Runner-up
(1)
£60,000
Semi-finalists
(2)
£32,000
Quarter-finalists
(4)
£20,000
Last 16 (second round)
(8)
£10,000
Last 32 (first round)
16)
£6,000
Qualification
The 2022 tournament continued the established qualification system whereby the top 32 players from the European Tour Order of Merit qualified for the tournament.[6] The Order of Merit is solely based on prize money won in the thirteen European tour events during the season.
As with the previous editions, players were drawn in a fixed bracket by their seeded order with the top qualifier playing the 32nd, the second playing the 31st and so on.
The following players qualified for the tournament: