Austrian Darts Open 2026 Prize Money Explained: How much can Van Veen, Van Gerwen, Wade and Rock earn in Graz?

From 8-10 May, 2026, the Austrian Darts Open is due to take place and is a staple of the European Tour season at the Stadthalle in Graz, Austria. It is the sixth of fifteen PDC European Tour events in the season.

It features 48 players and £230,000 in prize money, with £35,000 going to the winner. Martin Schindler is the defending champion, having defeated Ross Smith in last year's final. Although Schindler returns, the big names are fraught once more, with it being one of the final weeks before the Premier League concludes. Gian van Veen is the top seed, while Michael van Gerwen, James Wade, Josh Rock, among others, will play.

Luke Littler continues not to play European Tour events; the same can be said for Luke Humphries, as well as for players such as Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton, Stephen Bunting, Nathan Aspinall, and Gary Anderson. Albeit some are deciding instead to play exhibitions it seems over that weekend over the European Tour.
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Every player playing in the Austrian Darts Open earns a share of the prize money on offer with £35,000 going to the winner overall this year.

An important detail at European Tour events concerns the seeded players: the top 16 directly qualify by right into the tournament, rather than having to earn their spot through the ProTour. But the caveat is if they lose their opening match, the associated prize money is not added to the rankings. In other words: that amount does not count towards the various standings in that case.

A different rule applies to qualifiers. Players who qualified through a qualifying event and, due to withdrawals, are subsequently designated as seeded players will see their earned prize money reflected on the rankings.

The prize money distributed in Graz also impacts multiple rankings. It counts towards the PDC Order of Merit and the Pro Tour Order of Merit, but especially the European Tour Order of Merit. The latter gleams a qualification later in the season for Dortmund.

In addition, a player’s position on that list also determines seeding for that season finale. The higher a player stands on the European Tour Order of Merit, the more favorable the draw for the European Championship. Also, of course, it could mean that big names do not qualify for the event if they decide to skip events or don't get results.