PDC Europe Next Gen 2027: league phase at every event – all seven dates and venues confirmed
PDC Europe Next Gen 2027: league phase at every event, seven tournament weekends in Kalkar, Hildesheim, Ried and Sindelfingen – all the dates at a glance.
The HYLO PDC Europe Next Gen heads into its next season in 2027 – and does so with a noticeable change to the format. PDC Europe published the calendar for the coming year on Friday and confirmed at the same time that every event will now start with a league phase. Seven tournament weekends in Kalkar, Hildesheim, Sindelfingen and Ried im Innkreis are confirmed.
League phase becomes a fixed feature
The most important change concerns the format, not the calendar. Until now the youth series was known for its mix of formats: the style of play changed from weekend to weekend, sometimes in FA Cup mode, sometimes with Master Out, sometimes in league mode. From 2027 every event in the series will be preceded by a league phase. The format question is therefore no longer left to the set-up of the individual weekend – from now on every entrant everywhere first goes through a group phase.
Exactly how the league phase will be organised – group size, number of matches and legs, and the key for advancing to the following round – has not yet been explained by PDC Europe in its announcement. The organiser announced that further information on the 2027 season and on entry would follow shortly.
All dates and venues of the 2027 season
Seven tournament weekends are spread across the year, with four venues in Germany and Austria:
- 30 to 31 January – Wunderland Kalkar (season opener)
- 6 to 7 February – Halle 39, Hildesheim
- 28 to 30 May – Messehalle Ried im Innkreis (Austria)
- 24 to 25 July – Halle 39, Hildesheim
- 7 to 8 August – Glaspalast Sindelfingen
- 14 to 15 August – Glaspalast Sindelfingen
- 21 to 22 August – Halle 39, Hildesheim (season finale)
The shape of the calendar stands out: after the opener in Kalkar at the end of January and the Hildesheim weekend that follows straight after at the start of February, there is a long gap until the end of May. After that the series becomes considerably denser – four of the seven weekends fall between 24 July and 22 August, including two consecutive dates at the Glaspalast in Sindelfingen.
Ried the only three-day event
The Austrian stop plays a special role: the weekend at the Messehalle Ried runs over three days from 28 to 30 May, making it the only extended event of the season. The other six dates are classic two-day weekends.
Hildesheim remains the heart of the series: with three dates, Halle 39 is the most frequently used venue and also hosts the season finale on 21 and 22 August.
The road leads on to the Super League
Nothing changes about the sporting idea behind it. The Next Gen remains a qualifying route to the PDC Europe Super League – which in turn can earn its participants a ticket to the World Championship at Alexandra Palace. For youth and amateur players from the German-speaking countries, the series therefore remains the most tangible opportunity to play under professional conditions and work their way step by step towards the big stage.
What the 2026 season leaves behind
The season just ended sets the bar high. 16 tournaments across eight weekends were on the calendar in 2026, Hildesheim was the most frequent host with six events, Sindelfingen and Ried had four each, Kalkar two. The formats were varied:
- seven tournaments in FA Cup mode
- three Master Out events
- two events each in league mode, in double-in-double-out and in the 170 format
The sporting highlight came from Daniel Klose: in the final in Sindelfingen he threw a nine-darter against Lenny Schlüter and won the match 6:2. It was the second perfect leg in Next Gen history and the first to be caught on camera.
The overall standings went to Jaimy van de Weerd with two titles and eight final appearances. The youth standings went to Mika Donnevert, who also became the youngest tournament winner in Next Gen history. Marcel Hausotter and Dragutin Horvat secured their ticket to the Super League with their wins in Sindelfingen.
These questions are still open
For now, what matters most to players remains unanswered: how many individual tournaments will be played across the seven weekends? When does entry open, and what does the entry fee or season pass model look like? PDC Europe has also said nothing so far about coverage of the events. The organiser has announced further details – until then, at least it is clear when and where the 2027 season will be played.