The kick-off of the ELTEN Safety Shoes Austrian Darts Open was all about Mensur Suljović. In front of a home crowd, the Viennese player triumphed 6-2 against Cameron Menzies, creating a goosebumps-inducing atmosphere at the Graz Messe Congress.
Already during the week, Mensur Suljović drew attention with quarter-final and semi-final appearances at the Players Championship events in Hildesheim. On Friday, the Viennese built on that performance and left Cameron Menzies no chance in his 6-2 victory. For the Austrian fans, it was a moment of pure satisfaction.
Debut, Comeback, and Defeats for Austria’s Hopefuls
For the three other Host Nation Qualifiers, Friday was significantly less successful. Nick Zwittnigg celebrated his European Tour debut but lost to Andrew Gilding with 4-6. Aaron Hardy returned to the stage after an 11-year absence. However, his 3-6 loss against Krzysztof Ratajski was not enough for a premier victory on the Tour. Zoran Lerchbacher succumbed to Peter Wright with 2-6. For the Scotsman, it was the first European Tour victory of 2026 after a weak start to the season.
van Duijvenbode Out Despite Best Average
Dirk van Duijvenbode was the only player of the day to play an average of over 100 points. Nevertheless, it was not enough for the win. Madars Razma took revenge only four days after his defeat at Players Championship 13 and, like Peter Wright, celebrated his first victory on the European Tour in 2026.
All results from Friday
Ryan Joyce 6:3 Gabriel Clemens
Ricardo Pietreczko 4:6 Patrik Kovacs
Niels Zonneveld 6:5 James Hurrell
Andrew Gilding 6:4 Nick Zwittnigg
William O’Connor 6:3 Anton Ostlund
Krzysztof Ratajski 6:3 Aaron Hardy
Niko Springer 6:3 Nick Kenny
Kevin Doets 6:3 Chris Landman
Dave Chisnall 3:6 Cristo Reyes
Joe Cullen 5:6 Rob Owen
Karel Sedlacek 3:6 Kim Huybrechts
Peter Wright 6:2 Zoran Lerchbacher
Raymond van Barneveld 2:6 Alan Soutar
Cameron Menzies 2:6 Mensur Suljovic
Dirk van Duijvenbode 4:6 Madars Razma
Michael Smith 4:6 Ian White
Outlook for Saturday
On Saturday, the top 16 of the seeding list will enter the tournament action at the ELTEN Safety Shoes Austrian Darts Open starting at 1 PM. Among them is Martin Schindler, who begins his title defense mission in Graz against Peter Wright. Record winner Michael van Gerwen starts his quest for title number 5 against Krzysztof Ratajski. Another test awaits Mensur Suljović against James Wade. Tickets for the weekend are still available HERE.
