Austrian Darts Open 2019 preview and schedule – Friday evening session

There are some big names on the bill for the first evening session of the Austrian Darts Open.

Steve Beaton is one of those names. His last European Tour outing resulted in a historic nine-darter, but not much else. His aim at the Austrian Darts Open will be to go on a solid run. The Bronzed Adonis starts against Mark Barilli, who hasn't won in Europe for nigh on four years. Andrew Gilding's bid to get back into the big time continues in Graz. He meets fellow English ace Chris Dobey in round one. If Goldfinger can find his magic touch, he'll face another Suffolk-based thrower in Peter Wright tomorrow. Diogo Portela has once again played his way onto the European Tour stage. Another shot at success at the Austrian Darts Open starts against Ryan Searle. Then Nathan Aspinall, who has been racking up some excellent performances of late, faces a tricky first round opponent in the form of Kim Huybrechts.

De Zwaan eyes up Cross

Jamie Hughes will play Ian White if he can overcome home nation qualifier Patrick Tringler on Friday evening. He has managed one second round appearance and one run to the last 16 so far, but this may be Hughes' chance to go even further.
Another player hoping to go deep into the Austrian Darts Open is Raymond van Barneveld. He'll put another £1,000 towards his race to an Ally Pally farewell - but will double that total if he can dismiss Mark Wilson.
Mervyn King plays Devon Petersen in the penultimate game, with the latter making his first European Tour appearance of the season. Rounding off the session is Players Championship 14 winner Jeffrey de Zwaan. The Dutchman is in incredible form on the floor, and Banjamin Fasching might not be part of the Austrian Darts Open for long if he can carry that on. The mouth-watering prospect of another crack at Rob Cross in round two will certainly serve as inspiration for the Black Cobra.
Click here to check out the PDC European Tour 2019 tournament centre.

Evening session schedule

18:15 Mark Barilli v Steve Beaton 18:45 Andrew Gilding v Chris Dobey 19:15 Diogo Portela v Ryan Searle 19:45 Kim Huybrechts v Nathan Aspinall 20:15 Jamie Hughes v Patrick Tringler 20:45 Raymond van Barneveld v Mark Wilson 21:15 Mervyn King v Devon Petersen 21:45 Jeffrey de Zwaan v Banjamin Fasching