Magic Mensur rolls back the years to delight home fans in Graz

Mensur Suljovic had Graz on its feet after beating Ritchie Edhouse in some style in the Elten Safety Shoes Austrian Darts Open on Friday.

Suljovic was one of four Host Nation Qualifiers who earned a spot in the European Tour tournament and will represent his adopted country in Saturday’s second round.

The previous Champions League of Darts winner defeated reigning European Champion Edhouse 6-3 in their first round match, and he advances to face Daryl Gurney in the last 32.

Rowby-John Rodriguez, Suljovic’s former World Cup of Darts partner, was one of three other Austrians to quit the event on Friday. He lost 6-2 to Matthew Dennant, who tasted success on the European Tour for the first time since 2019.

Jermaine Wattimena annihilated Zoran Lerchbacher, while Frenchman Thibault Tricole rallied from 3-1 behind with five straight legs to defeat Christian Goedl, who followed a 13-darter with a 160 finish to take an unexpected lead.

Wattimena now meets top seed Jonny Clayton, while Tricole and Dennant take on Joe Cullen and Martin Schindler, respectively.

Karel Sedlacek won his fourth consecutive game against five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld – and his second on the European Tour this year – with a 6-2 triumph, setting up a match with Damon Heta on Saturday.

Wessel Nijman missed only one dart at a double in his remarkable 6-4 victory against William O’Connor, and the rising Dutch star will face World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker.

Nathan Aspinall, the European Darts Trophy winner, will face Kevin Doets on Saturday, following the Dutchman’s 6-3 victory over Berry Van Peer.

Dirk van Duijvenbode dominated Hungarian qualifier Gyorgy Jehirszki, averaging 106 and clinching a 6-1 victory with a ten-darter in an outstanding performance that set up a delicious all-Dutch duel with World Youth Champion Gian van Veen.

Luke Woodhouse defeated Nathan Rafferty by 113 points in the deciding leg, and he will now face two-time World Champion Peter Wright on Saturday.

Ricardo Pietreczko preserved his perfect record in European Tour first round ties this year, defeating rookie Tom Bissell, and now meets Premier League star Chris Dobey.

Danny Noppert will face Niko Springer, who defeated Lukas Wenig 6-1 in an all-German first round match, and Ryan Joyce will face Ryan Searle after defeating Finland’s Teemu Harju 6-4.

Matt Campbell, Ian White, and Chris Landman won the deciding leg against Patrick Geeraets, Madars Razma, and Andrew Gilding, respectively, while Krzysztof Ratajski defeated Mickey Mansell 6-3.

The £175,000 competition resumes on Saturday, with the 16 seeded players competing in the second round, including two-time Austrian Darts Open winner Clayton and recent International Darts Open champion Stephen Bunting, who faces Campbell.

Magic Mensur rolls back the years to delight home fans in Graz

2025 Elten Safety Shoes Austrian Darts Open

Friday April 25

First Round

Afternoon Session

Matt Campbell 6-5 Patrick Geeraets

Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Mickey Mansell

Ian White 6-5 Madars Razma

Chris Landman 6-5 Andrew Gilding

Thibault Tricole 6-3 Christian Goedl

Ryan Joyce 6-4 Teemu Harju

Ricardo Pietreczko 6-3 Tom Bissell

Matthew Dennant 6-2 Rowby-John Rodriguez

 

Evening Session

Niko Springer 6-1 Lukas Wenig

Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 Gyorgy Jehirszki

Wessel Nijman 6-4 William O’Connor

Karel Sedlacek 6-2 Raymond van Barneveld

Mensur Suljovic 6-3 Ritchie Edhouse

Kevin Doets 6-3 Berry van Peer

Jermaine Wattimena 6-0 Zoran Lerchbacher

Luke Woodhouse 6-5 Nathan Rafferty

 

Saturday April 26

Second Round

Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)

Ross Smith v Chris Landman

Ryan Searle v Ryan Joyce

Danny Noppert v Niko Springer

Gian van Veen v Dirk van Duijvenbode

Joe Cullen v Thibault Tricole

Josh Rock v Krzysztof Ratajski

Daryl Gurney v Mensur Suljovic

Mike De Decker v Wessel Nijman

 

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)

Damon Heta v Karel Sedlacek

Peter Wright v Luke Woodhouse

Jonny Clayton v Jermaine Wattimena

Nathan Aspinall v Kevin Doets

Chris Dobey v Ricardo Pietreczko

Stephen Bunting v Matt Campbell

Martin Schindler v Matthew Dennant

Dave Chisnall v Ian White