PDC Starts Combining to Win Big for Charity in Poker Fundraiser

by Roy Brindley, 12 May 2026

Darts pros were among the celebrities who won big money for three charities in PDC Europe’s annual fundraising poker tournament.

Charity is a winner: Three good causes received €50,000 following a PDC Europe poker fundraiser in Munich. ©PDC Europe / Sebastian Doppstadt.

Key Facts:

• PDC Europe stars have raised thousands playing in a charity poker tournament.
• Star players Gian van Veen and Raymond van Barneveld joined celebrities in the Munich fundraiser.
• €50,000 raised for good causes, with the winner earning a ticket to the World Championship final.

A recent 2026 PDC Europe Poker Charity Tournament, staged in Munich, saw the darts and poker worlds come together to raise a record €50,000 for three institutions dedicated to inclusion and community across Germany.

Held at the Drivers & Business Club in Munich’s famed Motorworld complex, the annual Professional Darts Corporation (Europe) event combined professional darts players, poker champions, television personalities, sporting legends, and paying contestants.

Among the stars trading tungsten for poker chips were 2026 Premier League contender Gian van Veen, crowd favourite Dirk van Duijvenbode, German professional Ricardo Pietreczko, 2007 World Champion Raymond van Barneveld and 2010 World Championship runner-up Simon Whitlock.

Big Names Raise Big Money

Celebrities that gave up their time to play in the fundraising poker tournament included former German football international Thomas Helmer, former American football player and TV analyst Jan Stecker, Olympic discus champion Lars Riedel and TV actor Michel Guillaume.

Professional poker expertise came from four-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner George Danzer, Jan Heitmann, Michael’ Mayoman’ Strauch, and Stephan Kalhamer. The quartet were on hand to assist and support the celebrities.

Feature prizes were a trip to the 2027 Darts World Championship Final, an exclusive box seat for a Bundesliga FC Bayern Munich home match, and VIP tickets to a darts gala, including a meet & greet.

With 100% of entry fees going to charitable organisations, PDC Europe declared that the evening of high-stakes entertainment with a philanthropic focus surpassed all previous fundraising totals.

Förderverein Inklusion, which promotes the participation and integration of people with disabilities, and Mohr-Villa Freimann e.V., dedicated to promoting art, culture, education, and monument preservation, each benefited by €20,000.

An additional €10,000 raised at the poker event was donated to Marienkäfer e.V., a Munich-based charity that provides food, clothing, and essential support to people in need.

Even Bigger 180 Raised £1 Million+

Professional darts has a history of supporting good causes. For a third successive year, the 2025/26 Paddy Power PDC World Darts Championship, played at Alexandra Palace, became one of Britain’s biggest charity-driven sporting events through its partnership with Prostate Cancer UK.

During the tournament, online betting site Paddy Power pledged to donate £1,000 for every 180 scored as part of its ‘Even Bigger 180’ campaign. By the end of the championship, players had hit a record 1,127 maximums, raising more than £1.1 million for prostate cancer research and awareness.