Day One of the Austrian Darts Open began with the opening round on Friday afternoon, featuring Niko Springer, Niels Zonneveld, and Andrew Gilding among those in action. Ryan Joyce kicked off the session with a 6-3 victory over Gabriel Clemens. Both players have faced off frequently recently, and as Joyce admitted to DartsNews afterwards, they are two players not in the best of places with their game right now. Joyce hit double 18 to go 2-1 up, Clemens leveled with a 70 checkout for 2-2, then drew level again at 3-3 with a 48 checkout. Joyce held on double 18 for 4-3, and eventually pinned double 16 to seal the win. He now faces Mike de Decker.
Patrick Kovacs advanced against a struggling Ricardo Pietreczko, who has had issues with dartitis in the past week, averaging less than 60 on the ProTour and withdrawing mid-match. Pietreczko led 2-1 and 4-3, but Kovacs won three legs on the spin to take the match. Niels Zonneveld was a standout, seeing off James Hurrell in a thrilling decider. Zonneveld led 2-0 early, pinning double 10 after a 48 checkout, and went 3-1 up with an 80 checkout. Hurrell fought back to 3-3 with a 62 checkout, but Zonneveld broke back for 4-3. Hurrell hit 102 to make it 4-4, then held to go 5-4, but Zonneveld forced a decider and hit a 135 checkout to win.
Andrew Gilding struggled through against Nick Zwittnigg, averaging just 80, but advanced to face Jermaine Wattimena tomorrow. William O'Connor also averted a tough examination against Anton Ostlund, breaking with a 77 checkout for 3-1, then eventually winning 6-3. Krzysztof Ratajski moved through against Aaron Hardy, going 4-3 up and sealing a 6-3 win. He now faces Michael van Gerwen. Niko Springer brought out some of his best but wasn't fully at the races, seeing off Nick Kenny. Kenny led 2-1 early, but Springer hit a 126 checkout on double six to break back, then held with a 116 checkout for 4-3, and finished with a 167 and double eight for the win.
Kevin Doets continued his fantastic form, seeing off fellow Dutchman Chris Landman with the performance of the session, averaging 99. He went 2-0 up early, pinned 42 on double sixteen for 4-1, and led 5-1 before Landman held. Doets hit 41 on double 16 to claim a 6-2 win.
