Favorite for the German championship encounters unexpected setback in darts competition
At the European Championship, held in their own backyard, Martin Schindler was the favorite. However, things took a turn for the worse. The prominent German darts players, including Schindler, failed to advance past the initial round. Additionally, Gabriel Clemens, a strong competitor, suffered a significant defeat as well.
The highly-ranked Schindler, at 28 years old and seeded first, was unable to secure a win against Dutchman Dirk van Duijvenbode. Despite the passionate cheers from the crowd, Schindler, ranked 21st globally, struggled to regain his footing against van Duijvenbode. He eventually lost 3-6 in the first match of the tournament.
This was Schindler's fifth participation in the EM, and his fifth consecutive defeat in the opening round. Despite his strong performance in the European Tour of the PDC Europe, finishing at the top of the overall ranking, Schindler couldn't capitalize on his momentum in the major tournament.
Earlier in the competition, another German player, Gabriel Clemens, also fell short. The former World Championship semi-finalist was defeated by Dutch former world champion Michael van Gerwen 1-6 in the first round. The next German hopeful, Ricardo Pietreczko, will enter the tournament on Friday at 20:40 CET, taking on Australian Damon Heta.
Schindler showed his prowess earlier in the year, achieving a rare nine-darter on TV. A perfect game in darts, nine-darts is when a player scores 501 points in the minimum number of throws. The European Championship is being held in the Ruhr area from the 24th to the 27th of October.
Despite Schindler's impressive nine-darter earlier in the year and his top rank in the European Tour, his European Championships run came to an end in the initial round yet again. Clemens, who reached the World Championship semi-finals previously, also faced elimination early, losing to van Gerwen in the same round.
