Martin Schindler has a favorable draw at the Darts World Championship. But what will he do about it? The omens are good for the German number one. SPORT1 outlines the possible path to the final.
Will Martin Schindler’s big moment come at the 2026 Darts World Championship? The eight German participants can be largely satisfied with the draw, but Schindler has particularly lucked out.
On the way to the quarter-finals, the German number one faces no huge hurdles – and it doesn’t have to be the end of the line there. First, however, Schindler will face Englishman Stephen Burton in his opening match.
Martin Schindler has a good draw at the Darts World Championship
Darts World Cup: Schindler draws manageable opening hurdle
Schindler goes into the match as the clear favorite. Burton only secured one of the last five World Championship tickets on Monday afternoon at the Tour Card Holder Qualifier. The number 67 in the PDC Order of Merit has been in the international darts business since 2017 and is still waiting for his first win at a World Championship.
Schindler, on the other hand, is over 50 places better in the world rankings and is currently in 13th place with £448,250 in prize money – no German has ever been this good before. At the Austrian Darts Open this year, the Strausberger won his third title on the European Tour, writing German darts history.
Should Schindler survive the opening match against Burton, he would face either Irishman Keane Barry (number 55 in the world rankings) or outsider Tim Pusey in round two. The Australian is taking part in the Darts World Championship for the first time and had to change his cheeky nickname especially for the World Championship. Barry has rarely caused a sensation on the tour recently.
Schindler has particularly good memories of him
In round three, the first real test of strength could await Schindler, namely the Englishman Ryan Searle, who is seeded in 20th place. Schindler has won the last two duels against “Heavy Metal”, including the European Tour final in Basel in September 2024. There, Schindler fought his way back impressively after being 2:6 down in legs and ultimately won 8:7.
Searle missed seven match darts, the 38-year-old failed due to his nerves. Schindler’s joy was all the greater and he burst into tears of joy afterwards. A good omen then.
If the seeded players do their homework, Schindler would meet Stephen Bunting or Dirk van Duijvenbode in the round of 16. Schindler has also won the two most recent duels against Bunting, who is seeded in fourth place.
Just on November 9, Schindler won 5:4 against “The Bullet” at the Grand Slam of Darts and survived the group stage there for the first time. In the round of 16, the German then failed against Gerwyn Price (6:10). However, Bunting is always good for a top result at Ally Pally, as he proved last year with his semi-final appearance.
The historic German 9-darter
Thinking about duels between Schindler and Bunting, darts fans will remember a very special highlight. In the round of 16 of the Hungarian Darts Trophy on September 22, 2024, Schindler threw the first German 9-darter on a TV stage, a historic moment.
Schindler lost the last three duels against van Duijvenbode, but that doesn’t have to mean anything. Van Duijvenbode has only won one of his last six games and suffered a disappointing first-round defeat against Latvian Madars Razma (3:6) at the Players Championship Finals.
Schindler, on the other hand, is in good form, landing two wins at the PC Finals before losing to Price again (6:10).
If everything goes well, “The Wall” could go all the way to the quarter-finals. There, Jonny Clayton (position 5), Ross Smith (12), Dave Chisnall (21) and Michael Smith (28) would be possible opponents from the seeded players. With a view to their successes and current form, Schindler probably has the supposedly “easiest” quarter in the tournament tree.
Schindler avoids the really big superstars such as defending champion Luke Littler, the ex-world champions Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright and the shooting stars Josh Rock and Gian van Veen until the semi-finals.
Will there be a big duel with Luke Littler?
There, it could theoretically come to a duel with child prodigy Littler. But why shouldn’t Schindler be able to beat the new number one in the world rankings? Schindler already gave “The Nuke” a big fight at the UK Open in March 2024 (8:10), but he has not yet managed to win against the only 18-year-old superstar.
Littler only taunted Schindler in October, writing in his Instagram story that he was living “rent-free in his head”. At the World Championship, Schindler could prove the opposite in a potential semi-final. So far, Schindler has never made it past the third round at the most important tournament of the year, but this year everything could be different.
Gabriel Clemens showed how a German can reach the semi-finals at Alexandra Palace in 2023.