The German darts professional Martin Schindler has surprisingly won a title on the European Tour. The man from Strausberg defeated favorite Gerwyn Price from Wales 8:5 in the final in Riesa on Sunday evening and secured his first PDC title.
After Max Hopp and Ricardo Pietreczko, Schindler is only the third German to win a tournament on the European Tour. With the victory, Schindler takes over the place as German number one from former World Cup semi-finalist Gabriel Clemens.
Cheered on by the Saxon audience, Schindler fought back from a 2-0 deficit in the final and passed the “Iceman”. Among other things, he managed a ten-darter with a score of 6:4. After the converted match dart, “The Wall”, as Schindler is called, burst into tears and sank to his knees. Schindler moved up to 22nd place in the world rankings, with Clemens right behind him.
On the way to the final, the 27-year-old defeated Englishman Chris Dobey 7:3 in the semifinals. A round earlier he survived a match dart in a 6:5 win against Danny Noppert (Netherlands). For winning the tournament, Schindler received 30,000 pounds (around 35,000 euros) in prize money.
“It’s so brutal. I’ve been playing the tour for about seven and a half years. I have a great trophy,” said Schindler. “I wouldn’t have dreamed of it. But I worked a lot for it.”
Broadcast: Antenne Brandenburg, April 15, 2024, 1:30 p.m