Martin Schindler defeats his curse at the European Darts Championship. After a remarkable comeback, he reaches the round of 16.
Martin Schindler has reached the round of 16 for the first time at the European Darts Championship (LIVE on SPORT1 ). The German number one defeated Dave Chisnall 6-5 on Thursday evening at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund.
Initially, things didn’t look good for the Strausberger: Schindler struggled to find his rhythm at the start and quickly fell behind 0-3 in legs. SPORT1 commentator Basti Schwele later referred to it as an “impressive comeback victory.”
Martin Schindler reaches the round of 16
In the end, the statistics also favored Schindler: His three-dart average was 103.45 points, and he shone with a checkout rate of 66.67 percent. In contrast, Chisnall achieved 101.27 points per turn and a double rate of 57.14 percent.
The Englishman had produced the first highlight of the match, achieving a 111 high finish in the first leg.
Schindler initially struggled to find his rhythm, but after trailing 0-3, the German fought back impressively with two 180s and two 11-darters.
When leveling the score at 3-3, Schindler showed he was on par with his opponent but struggled with his opponent’s slow pace of play.
“This rhythm is deadly,” analyzed SPORT1 expert Robert Marijanovic. “Martin is a player who likes to have a flow. It takes a while to get into it.”
Chisnall pulled ahead again to 5-4, but Schindler demonstrated nerves of steel, forced a decider, and capped his comeback with his third 180 of the evening. He coolly converted his first match dart on double-20 to secure the victory.
Schindler had previously competed in the European Championship five times but had never advanced beyond the first round—until now.