Darts: Final drama! Springer missed the first PDC title

Three Germans are still there at the Dutch Darts Championship. It comes to the German duel.

Niko Springer narrowly misses his first PDC title at the Dutch Darts Championship. Jonny Clayton strikes back in the final.

Niko Springer narrowly missed his first major PDC title. The “Meenzer Bub” had to admit defeat to Jonny Clayton with 6:8 in legs in the final of the Dutch Darts Championship on Sunday evening.

For the 24-year-old, who has only had a tour card since this year, the tournament was still a great success: Springer’s best result on the European Tour before was a round of 16 appearance.

Niko Springer was very close to his first title on the European Tour

Niko Springer was very close to his first title on the European Tour

“Of course I was under a lot of pressure because it was my first final,” explained the Mainz native in an interview after the match.

With 98.54 points per shot and a double rate of 50 percent, Springer met Clayton on an equal footing. The world number six averaged 98.69 points and 44.44 percent on the doubles.

Springer also had a dream start: he opened the final directly with a 12-darter and then broke Clayton to 2:0. The third leg also went to the German.

Clayton was only able to secure the fourth leg. Springer then led 5:2 in between before Clayton started his追赶 and won five legs in a row. At the same time, Springer’s scoring dropped somewhat – which ultimately led to his defeat.

Springer storms into the final in an impressive manner

Springer reached the final with a 7:3 win against local hero Nijman Wessel and was not deterred by whistles from the Dutch audience.

In the quarter-finals he succeeded in a 6:2 win against compatriot Ricardo Pietreczko after he had already defeated Martin Schindler 6:2. Remarkable: In all three matches on his way to the final, Springer played a three-dart average of over 100 points.

Springer had already achieved a major coup on Saturday evening. The 24-year-old won his round of 32 in Rosmalen against the world number four, Stephen Bunting, with 6:5.

Springer climbs in the world rankings

Due to his strong performance in the Netherlands, he makes a leap in the world rankings from 93rd to 76th place, and he pocketed 12,000 pounds (around 14,000 euros) for his participation in the final.

Some top players such as world champion Luke Littler or former dominator Michael van Gerwen, who is taking a break from the tournament due to his separation from his wife Daphne, were not at the start of the seventh tournament of the European Tour.

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