THE draw & schedule of play have been confirmed for the 2017 Austrian Darts Open, as the PDC European Tour returns to the Multiversum in Schwechat, Vienna.
The £135,000 tournament will be held from June 23-25 as 48 players compete across three days, with the action being streamed at PDCTV-HD and through a series of bookmakers' websites.
Former Austrian Darts Open winners Justin Pipe and Vincent van der Voort will be in action in Friday's first round after securing their place through the respective qualifying events.
2012 champion Pipe - the winner in the first-ever European Tour event - takes on Germany's Rene Eidams, while 2014 winner Van der Voort comes up against Tony Newell, one of the 18 UK Qualifiers.
Saturday's second round will see the 16 seeded players enter the tournament, headed by 2013 Austrian Darts Open winner Michael van Gerwen, who will play either Wayne Jones or a Host Nation Qualifier.
Peter Wright begins his bid to claim a fourth European Tour win of 2017 against either Finland's Kim Viljanen or the East Europe Qualifier, who will come through Thursday night's knockout in Schwechat.
Michael Smith, the other European Tour winner this year following last month's success in Gibraltar, will take on either Chris Quantock or Paul Rowley, while leading Austrian Mensur Suljovic begins his bid for glory in his home event against either Ronny Huybrechts or James Wilson.
The tournament concludes on Sunday, with the third round in the afternoon session and the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in the decisive evening session.
The field will be completed on Thursday night with the Host Nation Qualifier in Schwechat, which offers five places for Austrian players, being held alongside the East Europe Qualifier for both the Austrian Darts Open and next weekend's HappyBet European Darts Open.
The Austrian Darts Open will be streamed worldwide for PDCTV-HD Subscribers throughout the weekend, as well as live through a series of bookmakers' websites worldwide.
NB: Adrian Lewis has withdrawn from the Austrian Darts Open for health reasons, and will be replaced in the field by a fifth Host Nation Qualifier.
Austrian Darts Open (ET7)
June 23-25 2017, Multiversum Schwechat, Vienna
Tournament Draw Bracket
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Wayne Jones/HNQ3
Steve West (16) v Adrian Gray/Vincent van der Meer
Alan Norris (8) v Jamie Bain/Christian Kist
Ian White (9) v HNQ2/Martin Schindler
Benito van de Pas (5) v John Henderson/Dirk van Duijvenbode
Daryl Gurney (12) v Jonny Clayton/HNQ1
Simon Whitlock (4) v Vincent van der Voort/Tony Newell
Cristo Reyes (13) v Rene Eidams/Justin Pipe
Peter Wright (2) v EEQ/Kim Viljanen
Stephen Bunting (15) v Chris Dobey/David Pallett
Kim Huybrechts (7) v HNQ5/Ritchie Edhouse
Joe Cullen (10) v Dimitri Van den Bergh/Jamie Lewis
Jelle Klaasen (6) v Rob Cross/Andy Jenkins
Michael Smith (11) v Chris Quantock/Paul Rowley
Mensur Suljovic (3) v Ronny Huybrechts/James Wilson
Mervyn King (14) v Lee Bryant/HNQ4
Schedule of Play
Friday June 22
First Round
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Adrian Gray v Vincent van der Meer
Chris Quantock v Paul Rowley
Jamie Bain v Christian Kist
Lee Bryant v Host Nation Qualifier Four
Rene Eidams v Justin Pipe
Ronny Huybrechts v James Wilson
East Europe Qualifier v Kim Viljanen
Wayne Jones v Host Nation Qualifier Three
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
John Henderson v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Host Nation Qualifier Two v Martin Schindler
Vincent van der Voort v Tony Newell
Chris Dobey v David Pallett
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Jamie Lewis
Jonny Clayton v Host Nation Qualifier One
Rob Cross v Andy Jenkins
Host Nation Qualifier Five v Ritchie Edhouse
Saturday June 23
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Steve West v Adrian Gray/Vincent van der Meer
Cristo Reyes v Rene Eidams/Justin Pipe
Michael Smith v Chris Quantock/Paul Rowley
Mervyn King v Lee Bryant/HNQ4
Alan Norris v Jamie Bain/Christian Kist
Benito van de Pas v John Henderson/Dirk van Duijvenbode
Daryl Gurney v Jonny Clayton/HNQ1
Stephen Bunting v Chris Dobey/David Pallett
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Ian White v HNQ2/Martin Schindler
Simon Whitlock v Vincent van der Voort/Tony Newell
Kim Huybrechts v HNQ5/Ritchie Edhouse
Michael van Gerwen v Wayne Jones/HNQ3
Peter Wright v EEQ/Kim Viljanen
Joe Cullen v Dimitri Van den Bergh/Jamie Lewis
Jelle Klaasen v Rob Cross/Andy Jenkins
Mensur Suljovic v Ronny Huybrechts/James Wilson
Sunday June 25
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Third Round
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
All games are the best of 11 legs. Sunday's games will be played in draw bracket order.
The Austrian Darts Open will be broadcast worldwide for PDCTV-HD Subscribers.
Live coverage with faster streams may be available at the following Bookmakers’ websites:
Bet365 - www.bet365.com - Worldwide
Betfair - www.betfair.com - Brazil, Denmark, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Wales
Betfred - www.betfred.com - England, Ireland,www.napoleongames.be Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales
bwin - www.bwin.com - Worldwide
Fonbet - www.fonbet.com - Armenia, Belarus, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Russian federation, Ukraine
HappyBet – www.happybet.com - Germany
Marathonbet - www.betmarathon.com - Belarus, Russian Federation, Spain, Ukraine
Napoleon - www.napoleongames.be - Belgium
Nike - www.nike.sk - Slovakia
Sazka - www.sazka.cz/kurzove-sazky/ - Czech Republic
Tempobet - www.tempobet.org - Europe
Tipsport - www.tipsport.cz - Czech Republic & Slovakia
Unibet - www.unibet.com - Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, United Kingdom.
William Hill - www.williamhill.com - United Kingdom, Ireland, Russia, Spain, Sweden & Germany
Winlinebet – www.winlinebet.ru - Russia