Hometown heroes Rowby John-Rodriguez and Mensur Suljovic will hope to send the crowd home happy by securing the Austrian Darts Open title this weekend.
| What | Austrian Darts Open |
| Where | Steiermark Halle, Premstaetten |
| When | Friday 21st April - Sunday 23rd April |
| How to watch | PDC TV |
MvG hoping to continue fine record
Michael van Gerwen has a rock-solid record in the Austrian Darts Open, winning three of the last four editions of the tournament.
The Green Machine has beaten Ian White and Danny Noppert in the last two finals and will be hoping to win his fourth edition of this tournament in its ninth year.
The only other previous winner in the field is Jonny Clayton, who took home the title in 2018 after beating Gerwyn Price 8-5 in the final.
Van Gerwen will be hoping to win his first European Tour event of the season - he was beaten in the final of the International Darts Open by Gerwyn Price earlier this month.
MvG has been in strong form in the Premier League. He topped the table after week 11 with three night wins, has won the most games and boasts the best leg difference.
He is 13/10 to win the Premier League title this season.
No Price in the draw
There will be one conspicuous absence in the field of the Austrian Darts Open with Gerwyn Price not making the journey to Premstaetten.
Price, 7/4 to be crowned Premier League champion, will be absent from the next few European Tour events after falling off the ProTour Order of Merit and deciding not to go through the qualification process.
The Iceman has pulled out of European Tour and Players Championship events in the past and that is partly the reason he has fallen off the Order of Merit, choosing to prioritise other events in the calendar.
Price had been one of the most successful players on the European Tour this season, winning two of the four tournaments that have already been completed - the European Darts Open and the International Darts Open.
Humphries top seed in competitive field
Luke Humphries was a revelation on last year’s European Tour, winning four of the 13 events as he rose up the rankings and cemented himself as one of darts’ top players.
Cool Hand took home the German Darts Grand Prix, the Czech Darts Open, the European Darts Grand Prix and the European Darts Matchplay last season and has started strong this time around.
He reached the final of the Baltic Sea Darts Open in February where he was beaten 8-5 by Dave Chisnall.
Humphries is the top seed, landing in the top quarter of the draw along with fellow seeds Andrew Gilding, Nathan Aspinall and Danny Noppert.
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Tight turnaround for PL stars
Night 12 of the Premier League this season takes place in Rotterdam on Thursday and the stars of that event will have to travel from the Netherlands to Austria for this tournament.
Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith, Peter Wright, Nathan Aspinall, Jonny Clayton and Chris Dobey will be in the field, with Dimitri Van den Bergh and Gerwyn Price missing out.
Challengers aim to transfer ProTour form
There have been 10 events on this year’s ProTour and some of the in-form contenders from those tournaments will be looking to continue their strong recent record in Austria.
Krzysztof Ratajski reached the final of Players Championship 8 before going one better at the next event and the Polish Eagle will be aiming to reproduce that floor form on the big stage.
Another player who has been rock-solid in floor tournaments this season is Dirk van Duijvenbode, who won Players Championships 4, 6 and 10.
The Aubergenius has averaged at least 100 in all three of those finals, so his ‘A game’ is as strong as almost anyone’s on tour at the moment.
Van Duijvenbode is in a competitive second quarter, with fellow seeds Jonny Clayton, Damon Heta and Joe Cullen.
Third quarter a tricky draw
The third quarter of the Austrian Darts Open this season looks one of the most competitive, with Dave Chisnall, Josh Rock, Michael Smith and Peter Wright the seeds in that section of the draw.
Chisnall has already won the Baltic Sea Darts Open and Smith took the German Darts Grand Prix in the last European Tour event.
Wright can never be dismissed and Rock is one of the rising stars of the PDC, so whoever makes it through this tough section could be hard to beat.
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