Soutar knows what is at stake for him this year: ''I need to perform and the European Tour is the best place to do it''

Alan Soutar reached the second round at the International Darts Open on Friday afternoon by dealing with Jeroen Mioch (6-4) in the opening match of the tournament.

The Scot got off to an excellent start on the doubles, winning his first five legs without missing an arrow on the doubles. The score was then 5-1 for Soutar. Mioch still came back to 5-4, before Soutar hit the last double with his sixth matchdart.

''I felt I played really well in the first couple legs and then I don't know if I just feel asleep or lost the treble 20. It was comfortable the first four legs, but the last couple were terrible'', he told Online Darts afterwards.

Soutar can put the prize money won to good use as it is an important year for 'Soots'. It is his third season on the PDC Tour, which means he now has to defend prize money for the first time, as the PDC Order of Merit is formed based on performances in the past two years.

''I got a Tour Card and he doesn't. I think people expect you to beat people like that, but that's not the case. You need to be really professional to do a job on guys like that and move on. For me it's massive for my rankings and this is my third year on the tour so I'm now aware of defending money and all that sort of things. I need to perform and the European Tour is the best place to do it.''