DOBEY BLASTS WHISTLERS IN GRAZ
26/04/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
By Aaron Nijjar
CHRIS DOBEY overcame persistent whistling from members of the crowd in Graz with a 6-1 win over Ricardo Pietreczko at the Austrian Open.
Former Masters Champion Dobey averaged a stellar 105 and landed a brilliant 124 checkout to beat Pietreckzo and enter round three.
But the atmosphere inside the arena was sour as some fans attempted to distract both players throughout the match by whistling.
The Bedlington thrower urged fans to show greater respect to the Pros on the oche.
He said: “You get a few idiots in the crowd who try and put you both off.
“It put me off at the start and it put him off at the latter stages of games.
“All I can say is respect the guys on here.
“You have all paid to come and see the darts so just be respectful.”
World No. 10 Dobey ended a run of SEVEN consecutive losses on the Euro Tour.
He added: “I keep bumping into Jermaine Wattimena who gives us an absolute hiding every single time.
“I’m comfortable at where my game is now.
“It’s about time I come up on stage here and produce the game that I can.
“It’s nice to be winning.”
Dobey made a great start to the year reaching the final of the Players Championship Two and winning Event Three.
However, he endured a dip in form before bouncing back by winning Night 11 of the Premier League in Rotterdam last week.
The 34-year-old currently sits seventh in the table, five points off the playoff spots.
Six-time ProTour event winner Dobey will now face Wessel Nijman in the last 16 and heaped praise on the Dutchman.
He admitted: “He is a great player and an upcoming talent.
“We have had many games already. He was one of the players to beat me on the Euro Tour and I will be looking for my revenge.”
Dobey is looking to win his maiden European Tour Crown.
Image by Taylor Lanning.
