Gian van Veen,
Andrew Gilding and
Daryl Gurney have all secured a spot in the second round of the
Austrian Darts Open in Graz.
For Van Veen, the 22-year-old dart Dutchman impressed as he won 6-1 against Jose de Sousa in the first round. Van Veen could not have wished for a better start to the match. He broke De Sousa immediately with a 17-darter and then made it 2-0 with a 15-darter. GVV The Giant' then ran out to 5-0, before De Sousa managed to get on the scoreboard after all. Van Veen then sealed the match with a 12-darter to face Ryan Searle in the next round.
Andrew Gilding finally secured his first Euro Tour victory of the season in Austria. 'Goldfinger' had also qualified for the previous four Euro Tours, but returned home without a win and, as an automatic qualifier, was therefore unable to accumulate prize money for the world rankings.
That changed against Austrian qualifier Dominik Haberl. Gilding prevailed 6-2 to earn a clash with Daniel Klose in the last 32. Klose is this weekend's replacement for Gerwyn Price, who had to sign out injured.
Former world champion Rob Cross will face Daryl Gurney in the second round. The Northern Irishman beat Martin Lukeman 6-3 to force a spot in the last 32 in Graz.