Mensur Suljovic (Paul Targyik/PDC Europe)
Mensur Suljovic continued his resurgence on home soil to dump out Cameron Menzies on Day One at the Austrian Darts Open.
The Austrian trailblazer delighted his adoring crowd with a ruthless display, pinning 75% of his attempts at double to celebrate a resounding 6-2 victory over Menzies.
Suljovic made a semi-final and a quarter-final during this week’s ProTour double-header in Hildesheim, and he built on that momentum to set up a showdown against third seed James Wade.
“That was absolutely brilliant,” declared Suljovic, who memorably lifted the Austrian Darts Championship back in 2019.
“I love this crowd. This is my family! Thank you!”
Despite an early exit for Menzies, Peter Wright and Alan Soutar preserved Scottish hopes with emphatic 6-2 wins during Friday’s bumper double session.
Wright swept aside Austrian veteran Zoran Lerchbacher to register his first European Tour victory in 2026, which sees him advance to a meeting with reigning champion Martin Schindler.
Soutar, meanwhile, punished a dismal display from Raymond van Barneveld in returning to winning ways on the big stage, and he now faces another Dutchman in the form of Danny Noppert.
There were mixed fortunes for the Dutch contingent in Graz, with Dirk van Duijvenbode succumbing at the expense of Latvia’s number one Madars Razma, despite averaging over a ton in defeat.
Razma’s reward is a clash against top seed Gian van Veen, while Niels Zonneveld will face last year’s runner-up Ross Smith, after piling in a magical 135 checkout to sink James Hurrell in a decider.
Kevin Doets also impressed at the Stadthalle, averaging 99 to dump out his quick-fire compatriot Chris Landman, having celebrated his maiden PDC ranking title at Players Championship Eleven on Monday.
Ian White claimed the scalp of 2022/23 World Champion Michael Smith in a battle of the former European Tour winners, running out a 6-4 victor to set up a meeting against Daryl Gurney for a place in the last 16.
Dave Chisnall was another high-profile casualty on Friday evening, as the eight-time European Tour event winner faltered on the outer-ring in his 6-3 defeat against Spanish star Cristo Reyes.
Rob Owen prevailed in his first European Tour appearance of 2026, defying Joe Cullen’s late rearguard to progress in a last-leg decider, having initially raced into a 4-1 lead.
Earlier in the day, Niko Springer landed a trio of ton-plus checkouts – including a fabulous 167 – to seal a 6-3 victory over Nick Kenny, and Wessel Nijman now awaits the German in a fascinating tussle.
However, Springer’s fellow countrymen Gabriel Clemens and Ricardo Pietreczko crashed out at the first hurdle, losing out to Ryan Joyce and Hungarian qualifier Patrik Kovacs respectively.
Kim Huybrechts claimed a potentially decisive win in the race to qualify for July’s World Matchplay, defeating Czechia’s Karel Sedlacek 6-3 to set up a meeting with seventh seed Chris Dobey.
William O’Connor overcame Sweden’s Anton Ostlund by the same scoreline, and the Irishman will now face former World Champion Rob Cross in Saturday’s afternoon session.
Elsewhere, former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding accounted for Host Nation debutant Nick Zwittnigg in a gruelling contest, before Poland’s number one Krzysztof Ratajski came through a stiff test against Aaron Hardy.
Ratajski’s next assignment will be a blockbuster showdown against three-time World Champion Michael van Gerwen, who will be amongst the star attractions on Day Two in Graz.
RESULTS
Round One
Ryan Joyce 6-3 Gabriel Clemens
Patrik Kovacs 6-4 Ricardo Pietreczko
Niels Zonneveld 6-5 James Hurrell
Andrew Gilding 6-4 Nick Zwittnigg
William O’Connor 6-3 Anton Ostlund
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Aaron Hardy
Niko Springer 6-3 Nick Kenny
Kevin Doets 6-3 Chris Landman
Cristo Reyes 6-3 Dave Chisnall
Rob Owen 6-5 Joe Cullen
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Karel Sedlacek
Peter Wright 6-2 Zoran Lerchbacher
Alan Soutar 6-2 Raymond van Barneveld
Mensur Suljovic 6-2 Cameron Menzies
Madars Razma 6-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Ian White 6-4 Michael Smith
