Austrian Darts Open loses more star power — Gerwyn Price joins Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Michael van Gerwen on absentee list

The list of big-name absentees from the upcoming Austrian Darts Open has grown even longer following Thursday’s tournament draw. In total, an eye-catching ten of the world’s top 20 players will be missing from the Euro Tour event in Graz.

Several elite players had already opted out well in advance. Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross, Gary Anderson, and Michael Smith all chose not to enter and were officially withdrawn when the seeded players were announced.

Now, the PDC has confirmed that four more notable names - Gerwyn Price, James Wade, Cameron Menzies, and Dimitri Van den Bergh - have pulled out. While all four were originally set to compete, each has since withdrawn. The only known reason comes from Van den Bergh’s camp: the Belgian has taken a self-imposed break from darts, having also missed last week’s German Darts Grand Prix. Though it’s still unclear when he’ll return, sources suggest Van den Bergh is planning a two-month hiatus from competition.

In light of the withdrawals, four replacements have been called up by the PDC to complete the line-up. Thibault Tricole, Matthew Dennant, Patrick Geeraets, and Lukas Wenig were all handed the opportunity to step in. For Geeraets, it’s a particularly special moment, as he prepares to make his Euro Tour debut.