Krzysztof Ratajski arrives in Dortmund in good shape after reaching the semi-finals of the German Darts Championship at the weekend.

However, the Polish Eagle has yet to turn that kind of form into results on the big stage, with his last quarter-final at a PDC televised event coming back in 2021.

Ratajski finally won his first match at this tournament in 2023, having lost his opener in each of his previous five appearances, before bowing out to Luke Humphries in round two.

That victory for Cool Hand was one of six in a row he has recorded against the 48-year-old, with Ratajski’s only wins in the head-to-head coming before Humphries became the consistent force he is today. Expect the world number one to extend that streak on Friday.

After his World Grand Prix success earlier this month, Luke Littler moved to within three titles of completing the full set of individual PDC majors.

The European Championship is one of the few boxes that still needs to be ticked for the Nuke, who will move to the summit of the Order of Merit if he triumphs on Sunday.

A motivated Littler is a tough opponent for anyone, and he should have too much for Raymond van Barneveld, who has lost seven of his last 10 matches.

There’s a wide gap between the pair in 180s per leg, with Littler ranked number one in the world on that metric this year, while Barney averages less than half of his round one opponent’s figure.