Darts boom

Best in the country! This family hits the bull’s eye

The Messner family

(Bild: zVg/Blümel)

The local darts scene is booming and booming - and Tanja Messner is the first Styrian to be ranked number one in Austria since the association was founded in mid-September. Most recently, the player from Köflach was able to defend her position for the first time, with competition even coming from within her own four walls.

Darts stars such as Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen will be the talk of the town again at the latest when the darts fly in the legendary Alexandra Palace shortly before Christmas. However, the precision sport is now filling the halls not only internationally, but also in Styria. "We have been growing in all areas, i.e. in e-darts and steel darts, for years. More and more people are watching darts on TV and more and more people are coming along," says Thomas Cichy, Chairman of the Styrian Darts Association. According to Cichy, darts, which has been officially recognized as a sport in Austria since 2020, benefits above all from low entry barriers. If you have your main residence in Styria, you are already eligible to play in almost all of the association's tournaments; you only need to be a club member if you want to take part in the championship every week.

Thomas Cichy

(Bild: zVg/Blümel)

Austria's new number one also proves just how quickly things can happen in the sport of darts. "I only started playing ranking tournaments a year ago. The fact that I've now been able to prove myself so quickly naturally makes me proud," explains Tanja Messner, who won three A tournaments in her first year, more than any other athlete. However, the mother-of-two celebrates the milestone modestly: "Although I've been looking forward to it for a long time and calculating how it might turn out, I'm not a Ronaldo who's jumping for joy."

Local inspection of the darts in Söding

(Bild: zVg/Bllümel)

When the Köflach native went to an Austria-wide tournament for the first time as the hunted and no longer as the hunter, she was not the only Messner to let the darts fly. Son Florian and daughter Marie automatically turn every tournament into a family outing: "We all started playing darts together and none of us have let go. Now we're at almost every tournament, all together, it's hard to get any better than that."

Youngsters come up trumps
With several titles in the respective age groups and Marie's surprising women's national championship, in which even her mother lost out, the youngsters have already made a name for themselves in the scene. The chances of the Messner name being at the top again next year are higher than ever.

Dominik Blümel/Kronen Zeitung