At major tournaments, the Germans have so far been unable to impress. For the Strausberger, however, better results are only a matter of time.
For Martin Schindler, the breakthrough of German darts professionals at the major PDC tournaments is only a matter of time.
“I am sure that – whether it’s me or the others – better results will come, even at the Majors,” said Germany’s top player in an interview with the Sport Information Service ahead of the European Championship in Dortmund (starting Thursday live on free TV on SPORT1 ).
Martin Schindler wants to go far at the Darts European Championship
Schindler wins two European Tour tournaments
The Strausberger, world number 17 with four PDC titles, looks positive into the future. “We’re doing quite well, the development looks very good,” said Schindler: “You just have to turn the clock back five years, where we stood as a darts nation then and where we have arrived now.”
Meanwhile, the 29-year-old moved up to 16th place in the rankings, which no other German had achieved before him. His four titles on the ProTour are more than those of the other Germans combined. This year, “The Wall” won on the European Tour in Styria and at the eighth Players Championships tournament in Hildesheim.
No win at the European Championship yet
At the major tournaments, however, the Germans are regularly eliminated early. Gabriel Clemens’ semi-final entry at the 2023 World Championship remained an exception. “Of course, I want it to finally move forward,” said Schindler, whose best results in individual majors are two quarter-final appearances.
At the European Championship, Schindler has started five times so far, never making it past the first round. Besides the German number one, the rising Niko Springer and last year’s quarter-finalist Ricardo Pietreczko are also in the Dortmund Westfalenhalle. Schindler, seeded in position two, especially believes the 25-year-old Springer has great potential.
Springer without pressure in Dortmund
“He will go his way,” said Schindler, who faces Englishman Dave Chisnall in the first round on Thursday evening.
Springer plays “fantastically.” The Mainz player, who won his first European Tour title in Budapest in September, should “just not take so much pressure from outside,” Schindler thinks.
Springer will face Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena in the opener on Friday evening, who surprisingly reached the final last year. The Berliner Pietreczko drew the toughest opponent of the Germans with Northern Irish team world champion Josh Rock (also Friday evening).