Two world champions grace the European Tour in the first session of the 2019 Austrian Darts Open.
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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.
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
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- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026
- Littler lost to crabtree in the youth/junior/whatever you call it. He had no point in being there. He's unfortunately now got to the stage,he feels all he has to do is get on the stage to win. Well,I hope he realises part of his fear factor has gone. Happened to Taylor,then van gerwen,and it's causing him to realise pretty sharp,he isn't unstoppable. It's good for the sport,not 1 single player in my 60 years has ever,or will ever be, unbeatable.rick6725-10-2026
- I think it's great to see Mark Webster looking good,good ladrick6725-10-2026
- I agree,I can't believe the lack of coverage of this sad loss. Always enjoyed watching him,but I guess now it's all about littler,well it seems that way. Darts has sadly lost a good manrick6717-10-2026
- In the absence of a report regarding the death of Stefan Lord, I'll assist. An excellent player in the late 70s and early 80s, he actually won the now defunct 3rd place match at two World Championships and a couple of the News of the World Championships. A fabulous player and easily the best Swedish player ever. Rest peacefully Stefan.richieburnettrocks16-10-2026