Austrian Darts Championship 2019 preview and schedule: Sunday 1 September, afternoon session

Joe Cullen deserves special kudos - the Rockstar was the only seed from 10th down to 16th who managed to stay in the tournament. Only one seed above Steve Beaton departed- but it was a big one, Daryl Gurney falling at the hands of Rowby-John Rodriguez. It means that there are still two locals aiming for Austrian Darts Championship success.

The majority of the Sunday afternoon matches feature one seed and one non-seed. That's the case in the first four matches of the session. First among them is Gerwyn Price taking on Vincent van der Voort. The big Dutchman has sealed two 6-4 wins so far in Vienna, thanks to some bursts of quality. The last five legs won against Simon Whitlock were managed in 12, 13 (twice) and 14 (also twice) darts. Rounding off legs in five visits at most is the only way that van der Voort keeps pace with the Iceman.

Adrian Lewis didn't have it all his own way against Christian Bunse, but had enough to edge through. More of the same would probably be enough against Cameron Menzies, but the Scot is proving to be a real wildcard. Yes, Michael Smith was miles below best, and that contributed to Menzies' win. But credit has to be given to the Challenge Tour participant for creating a lot of chances at the double against a world finalist - and taking six of them.

Mensur Suljovic doesn't have to carry a whole nation's hopes on his shoulders, as Rowby-John Rodriguez is still about. But the Vienna faithful will be desperate for the Gentle to be around on Sunday evening. James Wilson, who survived a match dart to scrape through a close-run tie with Steve Beaton, will want to tear up the script. Following on is Ian White's match against Keegan Brown, who averaged a whisker shy of 100 to send Nathan Aspinall packing.

Not too many imagined that Rowby-John Rodriguez or Mike de Decker would be a quarter-finalist at the Austrian Darts Championship. And yet one of them will be. Form and home advantage point to Rodriguez, whose consistency across the board to see off Daryl Gurney is to be admired. De Decker profited from severe wastefulness from Jonny Clayton. Not many opponents will make similar mistakes.

Peter Wright and Joe Cullen meet in one of two all-seed matches. Cullen was comfortably better than Luke Humphries on Saturday, but will want to tighten up on the doubles. Wright, meanwhile, barely put a foot wrong against Dimitri van den Bergh but was pushed all the way.

The other all-seed game is immediately afterwards. The potential ceiling for entertainment with Dave Chisnall playing Ricky Evans is huge. Both did a thoroughly professional job in round two as well, with Chisnall's 75 per cent checkout rate a real highlight. This one could be over in a flash - along with the Austrian Darts Championship prospects for one of the pair.

Michael van Gerwen and Jeffrey de Zwaan have an unspoken rule. If it's a major, de Zwaan wins. Mighty Mike takes the rest. So it has proved across their career meetings (depending on how you classify the European Championship). Just like in the first round, de Zwaan saved his best leg for the latter stages of the game against Darren Webster. A 10 and an 11-darter were reminders of his ferocious scoring. The Green Machine, meanwhile, rumbled ominously into life with a 102.7 average and just one dart at a double missed against Kyle Anderson. Form suggests that van Gerwen comes out on top, but also that a failure to kill off the Black Cobra early on could prove fatal.

Gerwyn Price v Vincent van der Voort
Adrian Lewis v Cameron Menzies
Mensur Suljovic v James Wilson
Ian White v Keegan Brown
Rowby-John Rodriguez v Mike De Decker
Peter Wright v Joe Cullen
Dave Chisnall v Ricky Evans
Michael van Gerwen v Jeffrey de Zwaan