STEPHEN BUNTING was amongst 20 players to win through the UK Qualifier for the Austrian Darts Open on Friday night, alongside former European Tour winner John Part, Michael Smith, Ronnie Baxter and Mark Webster.
Reigning Lakeside Champion Bunting was a semi-finalist in the German Darts Masters over the Easter period in his debut European Tour event, and he defeated Keegan Brown and Johnny Haines as he qualified to compete in Austria next month.
Three-time World Champion John Part, who won last year's UK Masters, saw off Pete Dyos and Josh Payne as he progressed to compete in Salzburg from June 20-22.
PDC Unicorn World Youth Champion Michael Smith saw off John Newland and Andy Jenkins to qualify, while Ronnie Baxter defeated Brett Claydon and Chris Aubrey as he progressed.
Former World Youth Champion Arron Monk caused an upset as he knocked out top seed Kevin Painter 6-5 in their decider, while Paul Nicholson was also edged out over 11 legs as Ireland's William O'Connor qualified to compete in Salzburg.
Seven-time major winner James Wade was knocked out 6-5 by Kirk Shepherd, the former World Championship finalist who later lost out to Ben Ward as the Dorset youngster progressed to a European Tour debut.
Welsh ace Jamie Lewis - the runner-up in last year's Gibraltar Darts Trophy - defeated fellow youngster Adam Hunt in his decider as he qualified, while David Pallett, who starred in the German Darts Masters, whitewashed Daryl Gurney to progress.
Experienced Terry Jenkins defeated top young talents James Hubbard and Joe Cullen as he qualified from a board which also featured Australian star Kyle Anderson, and Andy Smith was a 6-3 winner over Ireland's Glenn Spearing in his decider.
Former Lakeside Champion Mark Webster defeated Jay Foreman and Andy Parsons to qualify, with Scotland's John Henderson dropping only two legs on the night as he defeated Mick Todd and Conan Whitehead.
Dennis Smith edged out Wayne Jones 6-5 to qualify and Andrew Gilding's strong year continued with a 6-4 win over James Richardson in his decider.
Former UK Open finalists Mark Walsh and Barrie Bates also qualified to compete at the Salzburg Arena, with Dean Winstanley, Alex Roy and Kevin Dowling completing the series of 20 UK Qualifiers.
The field for the Austrian Darts Open will be completed on Thursday June 19, when the Host Nation Qualifier and European Qualifier take place at the Salzburg Arena.
The tournament's first round proper on Friday June 20 sees the 32 qualifiers drawn against each other, with the 16 seeded players, including Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor, entering at the second round stage on Saturday June 21.
Tickets for the Austrian Darts Open are still available through www.pdc-europe.net.
Austrian Darts Open
European Tour Event Four
UK Qualifier
Preliminary Round
Kevin Painter (1) Bye
Lee Moffatt Bye
Steve West Bye
Arron Monk Bye
Michael Smith (2) Bye
John Newland Bye
Colin Osborne Bye
Andy Jenkins Bye
Ronnie Baxter (3) Bye
Brett Claydon Bye
Chris Aubrey Bye
Darren Mawer Bye
Paul Nicholson (4) Bye
Michael Mansell Bye
John Bowles Bye
William O'Connor 6-3 Dave Ladley
James Wade (5) Bye
Kirk Shepherd Bye
Dan Russell Bye
Ben Ward 6-0 Gerwyn Price
Jamie Lewis (6) Bye
Scott Hudson Bye
Steve Hine Bye
Adam Hunt 6-5 Tony Newell
Dean Winstanley (7) Bye
Campbell Jackson Bye
Matthew Edgar Bye
Wayne Pepper 6-5 Michael Barnard
Stuart Kellett (8) Bye
Matthew Dennant Bye
Alex Roy Bye
Ian Moss 6-2 Darron Brown
Andy Smith (9) Bye
Stuart White Bye
Garry Spedding Bye
Glenn Spearing 6-2 Ross Smith
Wayne Jones (10) Bye
Mark Dudbridge Bye
Dennis Smith Bye
Peter Hudson 6-5 Jim Walker
Terry Jenkins (11) Bye
James Hubbard Bye
Joe Cullen Bye
Kyle Anderson 6-4 Terry Temple
Darren Webster (12) Bye
David Pallett Bye
Gary Stone Bye
Daryl Gurney 6-4 Joey Palfreyman
Richie Burnett (13) Bye
Darren Weaver Bye
Andrew Johnson Bye
Kevin Dowling 6-4 Paul Amos
Andrew Gilding (14) Bye
Joe Murnan Bye
James Richardson Bye
Mark Barilli 6-3 Denis Ovens
Stephen Bunting (15) Bye
Keegan Brown Bye
Jordan Johnston Bye
Johnny Haines 6-0 Kevin McDine
John Part (16) Bye
Pete Dyos Bye
Darren Whittingham Bye
Josh Payne 6-3 Matt Padgett
Mark Walsh (17) Bye
Matt Clark Bye
Jason Lovett Bye
Darren Johnson 6-4 Steve Brown
Colin Lloyd (18) Bye
Mark Cox Bye
Barrie Bates Bye
Matthew Dicken 6-4 Steve Grubb
John Henderson (19) Bye
Mick Todd Bye
Connie Finnan Bye
Conan Whitehead 6-5 Ricky Evans
Mark Webster (20) Bye
Jay Foreman Bye
Andy Parsons Bye
Nigel Heydon 6-5 Aden Kirk
First Round
Kevin Painter 6-0 Lee Moffat
Arron Monk 6-5 Steve West
Michael Smith 6-0 John Newland
Andy Jenkins 6-2 Colin Osborne
Ronnie Baxter 6-1 Brett Claydon
Chris Aubrey 6-2 Darren Mawer
Paul Nicholson 6-5 Michael Mansell
William O'Connor 6-2 John Bowles
Kirk Shepherd 6-5 James Wade
Ben Ward 6-5 Dan Russell
Jamie Lewis 6-1 Scott Hudson
Adam Hunt 6-5 Steve Hine
Dean Winstanley 6-1 Campbell Jackson
Matthew Edgar 6-2 Wayne Pepper
Stuart Kellett 6-0 Matthew Dennant
Alex Roy 6-4 Ian Moss
Andy Smith 6-3 Stuart White
Glenn Spearing 6-4 Garry Spedding
Wayne Jones 6-2 Mark Dudbridge
Dennis Smith 6-5 Peter Hudson
Terry Jenkins 6-2 James Hubbard
Joe Cullen 6-2 Kyle Anderson
David Pallett 6-1 Darren Webster
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Gary Stone
Richie Burnett 6-2 Darren Weaver
Kevin Dowling 6-0 Andrew Johnson
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Joe Murnan
James Richardson 6-5 Mark Barilli
Stephen Bunting 6-4 Keegan Brown
Johnny Haines 6-4 Jordan Johnston
John Part 6-5 Pete Dyos
Josh Payne 6-0 Darren Whittingham
Mark Walsh 6-2 Matt Clark
Jason Lovett 6-5 Darren Johnson
Mark Cox 6-2 Colin Lloyd
Barrie Bates 6-2 Matthew Dicken
John Henderson 6-1 Mick Todd
Conan Whitehead 6-3 Connie Finnan
Mark Webster 6-3 Jay Foreman
Andy Parsons 6-5 Nigel Heydon
Second Round
Arron Monk 6-5 Kevin Painter
Michael Smith 6-5 Andy Jenkins
Ronnie Baxter 6-5 Chris Aubrey
William O'Connor 6-5 Paul Nicholson
Ben Ward 6-1 Kirk Shepherd
Jamie Lewis 6-3 Adam Hunt
Dean Winstanley 6-3 Matthew Edgar
Alex Roy 6-1 Stuart Kellett
Andy Smith 6-3 Glenn Spearing
Dennis Smith 6-5 Wayne Jones
Terry Jenkins 6-3 Joe Cullen
David Pallett 6-0 Daryl Gurney
Kevin Dowling 6-1 Richie Burnett
Andrew Gilding 6-4 James Richardson
Stephen Bunting 6-2 Johnny Haines
John Part 6-4 Josh Payne
Mark Walsh 6-3 Jason Lovett
Barrie Bates 6-5 Mark Cox
John Henderson 6-1 Conan Whitehead
Mark Webster 6-3 Andy Parsons
Qualifiers
Arron Monk
Michael Smith
Ronnie Baxter
William O'Connor
Ben Ward
Jamie Lewis
Dean Winstanley
Alex Roy
Andy Smith
Dennis Smith
Terry Jenkins
David Pallett
Kevin Dowling
Andrew Gilding
Stephen Bunting
John Part
Mark Walsh
Barrie Bates
John Henderson
Mark Webster