The draw for the upcoming Austrian Darts Open has been announced – the twelfth staging of the event and, for the first time, the Stadthalle Graz is set to play host.
As is par for the course on Euro Tour events, the PDC have utilised the reserve list. Following Jonny Clayton’s decision to withdraw, Madars Razma was first in line and will now face Dirk van Duijvenbode on Friday evening.
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Prior to the draw, a number of would-be seeds opted not to compete. Therefore, a plethora of star players will be absent: Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Stephen Bunting, Gerwyn Price, Gary Anderson and Nathan Aspinall. Including The Ferret, that means seven arrow-smiths have been bumped up, subsequently picking up an additional £1,500 and beginning their campaigns on Saturday.
Dutch youngster Gian van Veen is the highest-ranked player in the field. With the pair of Lukes skipping this trip to Austria, the reigning European Champion takes the top seed spot and awaits either compatriot Van Duijvenbode or call-up man Razma.
With Clayton not taking part, that leaves just two competitors in the field who have previously claimed this crown. Unsurprisingly, Michael van Gerwen is one of them, having lifted the title on five occasions. The other is Martin Schindler, who arrives in Graz as the tournament’s defending champion.
MVG faces the prospect of a dangerous opener against the in-form Krzysztof Ratajski, assuming The Polish Eagle gets past whichever Host Nation Qualifier is thrown his way. For Schindi, it is a similar scenario – either Peter Wright or Snakebite’s local opponent, who will be determined on Thursday.
Man of the moment Wessel Nijman is probably the player most competitors will wish to avoid right now. So whichever variation of the name Nick between Niko Springer and Nick Kenny emerges victorious, the demonstrative Dutchman awaits as their reward.
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Last year, Ross Smith came agonisingly close to lifting the title before being overcome by Schindler in the final. If Smudger is to go one better this year, he must first navigate either Niels Zonneveld – somewhat of a Euro Tour specialist this season – or the highly capable James Hurrell.
With the quality on show, there are plenty of potentially fascinating clashes. However, due to the mass withdrawals, unless Nijman wins – and, let’s face it, you would not bet heavily against that right now – there will be a new name added to the 2026 Euro Tour roll of honour.
The action begins on Friday lunchtime with Ryan Joyce and Gabriel Clemens opening proceedings. As always, the opening round concludes later that evening before the seeds join the party on Saturday afternoon.
2026 PDC AUSTRIAN DARTS OPEN – ET6
Graz, Austria (8-10 May)
ROUND ONE – Friday 8th May (Afternoon Session)
Ryan Joyce v Gabriel Clemens
Ricardo Pietreczko v Patrik Kovacs
Niels Zonneveld v James Hurrell
Andrew Gilding v Host Nation Qualifier 1
William O’Connor v Anton Ostlund
Krzysztof Ratajski v Host Nation Qualifier 2
Niko Springer v Nick Kenny
Kevin Doets v Chris Landman
ROUND ONE – Friday 8th May (Evening Session)
Dave Chisnall v Cristo Reyes
Joe Cullen v Rob Owen
Karel Sedlacek v Kim Huybrechts
Peter Wright v Host Nation Qualifier 3
Raymond van Barneveld v Alan Soutar
Cameron Menzies v Host Nation Qualifier 4
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Madars Razma
Michael Smith v Ian White
ROUND TWO – Saturday 9th May (Afternoon Session)
Jermaine Wattimena v Gilding / Host Nation Qualifier 1
Mike De Decker v Joyce / Clemens
Rob Cross v O’Connor / Ostlund
Ryan Searle v Doets / Landman
Ross Smith v Zonneveld / Hurrell
Damon Heta v Chisnall / Reyes
Luke Woodhouse v Cullen / Owen
Chris Dobey v Sedlacek / Huybrechts
ROUND TWO – Saturday 9th May (Evening Session)
Daryl Gurney v M Smith / White
Josh Rock v Pietreczko / Kovacs
James Wade v Menzies / Host Nation Qualifier 4
Michael van Gerwen v Ratajski / Host Nation Qualifier 2
Danny Noppert v Van Barneveld / Soutar
Gian van Veen v Van Duijvenbode / Razma
Martin Schindler v Wright / Host Nation Qualifier 3
Wessel Nijman v Springer / Kenny
——ENDS—–
Images: PDC Europe
