[1] Peter Wright was the defending champion, having won the tournament for the first time with an 11–4 win over James Wade in the 2020 final.

[2] However, he became the third consecutive defending champion to be eliminated in the first round after losing 6–3 to Florian Hempel.

[3] Rob Cross won his second European Championship title after defeating Michael van Gerwen 11–8 in a repeat of the 2017 final.

The 2021 European Championship had a total prize fund of £500,000, the same as its previous edition.

[6] The Order of Merit is solely based on prize money won in the two European tour events during the season.