Double debut success in Ried: Patrick Reisenegger claims first NEXT-GEN title while Daniel Klose dominates historic 170 tournament

With a debut winner on Saturday and a memorable final on Sunday, PDC Europe’s NEXT GEN weekend in Ried im Innkreis came to a close. While Austria’s Patrick Reisenegger lifted his first title on the tour, Daniel Klose made a powerful statement at the inaugural 170 tournament. The German gave the field no chance and capped his dominant display with a final win without dropping a leg.

Saturday in Ried im Innkreis was all about the seventh event of the PDC Europe NEXT GEN 2026 season. The format followed an “FA Cup” structure, with a group stage leading into a knockout phase. The day’s biggest success went to Austria’s Patrick Reisenegger, who claimed the first NEXT GEN title of his career.

Reisenegger opened the knockouts with a 4-1 win over Jakob Kilger before springing the first upset as early as round two. Against German top player Liam Maendl-Lawrance, the Austrian held his nerve in a tense decider to edge it 4-3.

Reisenegger then maintained his impressive run with a commanding 4-1 victory over Pascal Grummich. In the subsequent clash with German top talent Jarod Becker, he once again showed steel and moved on with another 4-3 success.

The Austrian could not be stopped in the quarterfinals either. He beat Germany’s Mika Donnevert 5-2 before delivering one of his best performances of the tournament in the semifinals against Oliver Keßler. Reisenegger gave his opponent no chance in a clear 5-0 win to seal his place in the final.

There he faced a high-profile opponent in René Eidams. The German World Championship cult hero had reached the final of a NEXT GEN event for the second time in a row but fell short again. Reisenegger crowned his strong tournament with a 6-4 victory and celebrated the first NEXT GEN title of his career.

Sunday brought a first in PDC Europe NEXT GEN history with Event 8. For the first time, a tournament was staged in the innovative “170” format. Unlike the usual setup, each leg did not start at 501 but at just 170 points, underlining the series’ experimental character.

From the outset, one of Germany’s most experienced players, Daniel Klose, made striking use of the new format. The German began the knockouts with a clear 8-1 win over compatriot Adrian Eckert and followed it up with a 10-6 victory against Dennis Mayer.

Klose continued to dominate in the following rounds. He swept past Austria’s Patrick Tringler 10-3 before also easing past Leon Ebmeier 10-2 in the last 16.

In the quarterfinals, Klose gave German stalwart Marcel Hausotter no chance in a 10-3 win, underlining his strong form once more. The German then booked his place in the final with a composed 10-4 victory over Tim Scholz.

In the final, Klose put the seal on his outstanding display. With a superb performance, he left Jaimy van de Weerd no openings and won the decider 11-0. That secured not only the title at the first NEXT GEN tournament in the new 170 format, but also his third tournament win of the current season.