SULJOVIC BLASTED OVER OCHE MIND GAMES
16/02/2026 By Aaron Nijjar
MENSUR SULJOVIC has been blasted over claims he uses “clever” mind games to wind up opponents at the oche.
‘The Gentle’ made headlines at Ally Pally after being accused of “cheating” by Joe Cullen over the amount of time he was taking between throws.
World No.55 Suljovic would go on to make the third round of the World Championship before falling to Luke Littler.
But the Austrian again found himself at the centre of controversy at Players Championship One, where he reached the last 16.
Former pro Vincent van der Voort claimed Suljovic rattled Justin Hood during their last-32 clash in Hildesheim with his slow pace and on-stage demeanor.
He said on the Darts Draait Doort Podcast: “In that match against Suljovic you could tell he was getting irritated.
“He didn’t have that at the Worlds. At Ally Pally anything could happen and he just kept smiling.
“But now you saw he really started to get annoyed. He was pointing at times and midway through the match there was even some back-and-forth.
“Suljovic approaches it so that he has nothing to do with anyone else. He plays his own tournament, for himself and his family. What the rest think doesn’t really interest him.
“If it suits him, he pretends he can’t speak English.
“He definitely understands what’s being said, but then he plays the innocent. That winds everyone up. It’s a clever tactic.”
The Dutchman knows from personal experience how frustrating a match against Suljovic can be.
Van der Voort landed in hot water in 2019 after pulling out his PHONE on stage during a Euro Tour clash.
He added: “I couldn’t care less. You don’t expect them to film you when your opponent has just won a leg.
“When I saw I was fully on camera, I quickly put it back in my pocket.”
Vince admitted he knew straight away that his actions would land him with a fine.
He continued: “You can see that one coming, because they don’t like that.
“I remember exactly what it was. PSV were playing and were 1-0 down. That’s a rival of Ajax. It was all taking so long, so I thought: I’ll just check.
“Then I got broken and PSV were suddenly 2-1 up and I was completely done with it. It wasn’t very professional. I’m not proud of it either.”
Image by Taylor Lanning.
