Luke Humphries has been forced to pull out of the European Championship due to illness, hours before he was due to take on Ryan Searle in his first round match in Dortmund.

World number two Humphries was seeded 12th in the draw for the season-ending European Tour event, and would have faced Searle on Thursday evening.

But the PDC have announced that 'Cool Hand' has been diagnosed with gastroenteritis, with Kim Huybrechts - the next highest-ranked player in the European Tour Order of Merit - confirmed as his replacement.

Luke Humphries out, Kim Huybrechts in for European Championship

A statement from the PDC reads: "Under PDC rules, Humphries will be directly replaced in the field by Kim Huybrechts, the highest-ranked non-qualified player in the 2026 European Tour rankings.

"Belgium's Huybrechts will take on Ryan Searle on Thursday evening, with the winner set to face Danny Noppert or Stephen Bunting on Saturday."

Humphries had been tipped as one of the favourites to win the event in Dortmund, with his low seeding position down to the fact that he only entered five of the 15 European Tour events this season.

But his absence will now hand favourite Luke Littler, who is seeded 11th, another advantage in his quest to win the only PDC major title he is yet to lift during his career.