Austrian Darts Open 2019 preview and schedule - Friday afternoon session

Two world champions grace the European Tour in the first session of the 2019 Austrian Darts Open.

First on the bill are the English duo of Conan Whitehead and Keegan Brown. The Barbarian has yet to impress since his switch to the PDC; that could change on his European Tour debut. Brown has already put in some decent performances, and is one of the few players to beat Michael van Gerwen on stage this year. He could have a crack at Max Hopp if he opens his Austrian Darts Open campaign with a win. Boris Koltsov takes on the Nordic & Baltic qualifier, Johan Engstrom. That's followed by Irish ace Steve Lennon playing Jamie Bain, with the winner due to play Michael van Gerwen in round two. Scottish thrower Bain lines up for his first European Tour outing this season. The first of the home nation qualifiers takes to the Graz stage in the fourth tie. Dietmar Burger was once Austria's representative at the World Cup of Darts, and twice at the PDC World Championship. Times have changed for the 50-year-old. A shot at redemption comes in the first round against the imposing Polish number two, Tytus Kanik. The winner plays defending champion Jonny Clayton.

Photo: Lawrence Lustig/PDC

Bunting spooked by van Boogaard?

Stephen Bunting is on a decent run of form. The former BDO world champion battled through to the final of Players Championship 14, and tweeted that he is in good spirits. Those spirits might be given a scare if Patrick van den Boogaard springs a surprise. The Dutchman is the underdog, but won't give up the ghost if things get tough.
John Henderson is gunning for a run at second seed Gerwyn Price, but must get past Ross Smith first. Then Darius Labanauskas looks to build on a promising Players Championship performance. He takes on Austrian rising star Michael Rasztovits.
Two Welshman contested last year's Austrian Darts Open final. Can Mark Webster keep the Welsh flag flying high? The Cymru colossus opens his tournament with a clash against Dirk van Duijvenbode. Keep an eye out for van Duijvenbode's new set, featuring flights depicting that infamous walk-on. We'd all love a repeat, Dirk...
Play starts at 13:00 local time - or 12:00 BST. PDC TV will again host as much of the play as it can manage.
Click here to check out the PDC European Tour 2019 tournament centre.

Afternoon session schedule

12:00 Conan Whitehead v Keegan Brown 12:30 Boris Koltsov v Johan Engstrøm 13:00 Jamie Bain v Steve Lennon 14:00 Dietmar Burger v Tytus Kanik 15:00 Stephen Bunting v Patrick van den Boogaard 15:30 Ross Smith v John Henderson 16:00 Darius Labanauskas v Michael Rasztovits 16:30 Mark Webster v Dirk van Duijvenbode