Austrian Darts Open 2023 | Day Three Preview and Order of Play
The 2023 Austrian Darts Open draws to a close in Premstätten on Sunday as the 16 remaining hopefuls compete for the title.
A £30,000 top prize is up for grabs at the Steiermarkhalle as 12 seeds and four qualifiers collide over two sessions.
The afternoon session plays host to the Third Round ties, before the Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and final follow in the evening.
Defending champion Michael van Gerwen steps up his quest for a fifth Austrian Open crown with a clash against World Cup of Darts winner Simon Whitlock.
Van Gerwen is bidding to bounce back from his disappointing early exit in the Premier League on home soil in Rotterdam on Thursday by capturing a first European Tour title of the season.
The number three seed defeated John Henderson 6-4 in his opener on Saturday and now comes up against his recent nemesis – who had won six of their matches in a row before MVG stopped the rot on the ProTour last month.
Whitlock produced sensational finishes of 117 and 110 on the bull in the final two legs to snatch a 6-5 victory over Martin Schindler on Saturday with a 98 average and 6/7 on the doubles.
Home hopes rest on the shoulders of Austrian darting giant Mensur Suljovic – who looks to reach his first Euro Tour Quarter-Final since October 2021 at the expense of world number one Michael Smith.
Suljovic saw off Ricky Evans in his opener before thrashing an out of sorts Peter Wright 6-1 in a gruelling contest which saw both players average in the 70s.
Smith will look to silence the partisan Premstätten crowd by remaining on course for back-to-back Euro Tour titles following his Easter triumph at the German Darts Grand Prix.
Two former UK Open champions go head-to-head as Nathan Aspinall takes on Danny Noppert.
Aspinall is out to make it back-t0-back Euro Tour finals, having finished runner-up in Munich a fortnight ago, and is riding high after winning Night 12 of the Premier League in Rotterdam on Thursday.
Noppert overcame Masters champion Chris Dobey 6-4 in Round Two and is out to make it three Quarter-Finals from his last four Euro Tour appearances.
Northern Irish compatriots collide as World Youth Champion Josh Rock takes on a resurgent Mickey Mansell – who averaged 100.4 in dispatching Dave Chisnall 6-2 on Saturday.
Former World Champion Rob Cross, a three-time Euro Tour finalist last season, faces multiple ranking event winner Ryan Searle – who survived match darts from Raymond van Barneveld in a gripping last-leg tussle on Saturday.
Man of the moment Dirk van Duijvenbode, the most successful player away from the TV cameras this season, continues his quest to reach a second Euro Tour final of the season when he faces former Masters champion Joe Cullen – who averaged 102.8 in defeating Nick Kenny in his opener.
Daryl Gurney thrashed top seed Luke Humphries 6-1 to reach the final day of a Euro Tour event for the first time this year, and he now faces UK Open champion Andrew Gilding – the number 16 seed who beat Canada’s Matt Campbell 6-4.
Jonny Clayton, whose sole Euro Tour title to date came at this event in 2018, resumes his bid for a second green jacket with a show-down against fourth seed Damon Heta – who entered the stage with a set of skis before recovering from 4-1 down with five straight legs to defeat Luke Woodhouse.
The action gets under way from 12pm BST, with Third Round and Quarter-Final ties to be contested over the best of 11 legs, Semi-Finals best of 13 and the final best of 15.
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Austrian Darts Open 2023 Day Three Schedule
All times BST (Local time one hour ahead)
Sunday April 23
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm)
Third Round
Daryl Gurney v Andrew Gilding
Nathan Aspinall v Danny Noppert
Damon Heta v Jonny Clayton
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Joe Cullen
Mickey Mansell v Josh Rock
Michael Smith v Mensur Suljovic
Michael van Gerwen v Simon Whitlock
Rob Cross v Ryan Searle
Evening Session (6pm-10pm)
Quarter-Finals
Gurney/Gilding v Aspinall/Noppert
Heta/Clayton v Van Duijvenbode/Cullen
Mansell/Rock v Smith/Suljovic
Van Gerwen/Whitlock v Cross/Searle
Semi-Finals
Final
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