Austrian Darts Trophy
The weekend of 20th-22nd June saw the elite players from the
PDC join a host of UK and European qualifiers as the European
Tour returned to Austria for a second successive year.
There were some high quality encounters, shocks and even an
unforeseen withdrawal, but when all was said and done it was Vincent
van der Voort who claimed his first ranking title in three years as he
continued his fightback from the back injury that has plagued him over
recent months.
Vincent van
der Voort Back
In The Winners
Circle
First Round
Michael Smith produced perhaps the most impressive display of the
first round, a 6-0 defeat of Dave Pallett, although Stephen Bunting’s
6-1 victory over Arron Monk and Dean Winstanley’s victory over Uwe
Bacher by the same scoreline were also contenders.
Barrie Bates’ return to European Tour action did not end well as he fell
victim to youngster Ben Ward, whilst another old hand in the form of
Andy Smith enjoyed more success as he overcame Kevin Dowling.
Meanwhile, Rowby-John Rodriguez and Mensur Suljovic kept home
hopes alive as they enjoyed victories over Dirk van Duijvenbode and
Dennis Smith respectively.
Photo: PDC/Lawrence Lustig