World number one Luke Humphries and reigning World Champion Luke Littler headline the field, which features five former winners, including four-time champion Michael van Gerwen.
The tournament runs from October 23rd to 26th, and concludes the PDC's 2025 European Tour season.
Nathan Aspinall arrives in Germany as the number one seed after winning three European Tour titles this year, including the German Darts Championship in Hildesheim last weekend.
The Asp opens his campaign on Friday night against two-time European Champion Rob Cross in one of the standout ties of the first round.
"It's been a difficult few months since the World Matchplay," Aspinall reflected to the PDC after his win in Hildesheim.
"My performances since Blackpool had not been great, but I've been working hard at home.
"It was an amazing weekend of darts, and to be the number one seed going into the European Championship has given me another huge confidence boost."
Schindler's home comforts
German number one Martin Schindler finished second behind Aspinall in the European Tour rankings and begins his campaign on Thursday against Dave Chisnall, who secured qualification in the final event of the season.
Schindler is aiming to become the first German player to reach the semi-finals of this competition since it was first staged in 2008.
Stephen Bunting, the world number four, meets Chris Dobey in another opening-round contest on Thursday evening.
Bunting claimed his first European Tour titles earlier this year in Riesa and Basel and is targeting a maiden televised ranking title.
"I think I'm playing some fantastic darts," said Bunting.
"Sometimes to win these titles you need a little bit of luck at key moments, but I'm confident I can go far."
Van Gerwen begins his campaign against fellow Dutchman Wessel Nijman, while Welsh number one Gerwyn Price faces two-time semi-finalist Daryl Gurney.
Former champions Ross Smith and Peter Wright also meet on the opening night in a repeat of their 2022 final, and Jonny Clayton will take on Ryan Searle.
Elsewhere, World Youth Champion Gian van Veen plays Australian number one Damon Heta, and Ryan Joyce meets 2024 semi-finalist Luke Woodhouse in the opening match of the tournament.
Littler and Humphries in good form
The second evening of first-round action features Humphries' meeting with Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski and Littler's clash with five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld.
Littler has averaged 100.17 across his last ten televised matches, while Humphries' season average of 99.82 ranks among the highest on the circuit.
The pair could potentially meet in the final on Sunday evening, depending on how the draw unfolds.
Success for Littler will see the youngster overtake Humphries as the outright world number one.
Friday's schedule also includes former champion James Wade against Belgium's Mike De Decker, an all-Scottish tie between Gary Anderson and Cameron Menzies, and Northern Ireland's World Cup winner Josh Rock against Germany's Ricardo Pietreczko.
Dutch pair Dirk van Duijvenbode and Danny Noppert will also face off, with the winner to meet either Aspinall or Cross in round two.
Second-round matches will be played across two sessions on Saturday, followed by the quarter-finals on Sunday afternoon and the semi-finals and final on Sunday evening.
The European Championship has been won by nine different players since its inception, with Van Gerwen's four titles the most by any player, although he hasn't lifted the trophy since 2017.
Last year's surprise package, Ritchie Edhouse, won't be given an opportunity to defend his European crown, which he earned by defeating Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena in a one-sided 2024 final.
The 42-year-old failed to qualify for this weekend's final event after a series of underwhelming performances on the tour, leaving him languishing in 33rd position.