VA week ago the European Tour went on a trip. The darts circus made a guest appearance at the Austrian Darts Open in Graz, and the Austrian fans showed that an atmospheric backdrop and sporting fairness when throwing darts are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
Now the tour has returned to Germany. The European Darts Open will be played in Leverkusen until Sunday, and as with some of the previous events, such as in Riesa and Hildesheim, some obviously unteachable people in the hall caused trouble.
The troublemakers had explicitly targeted the Dutch players and the opponents of the German starters. While chants like “Without Holland we’re going to the World Cup” are now accepted with a shake of the head, targeted heckling and whistles during the throwing movements of the pros caused anger and incomprehension.
George Noble’s words go unheeded
In the first round match between Maik Kuivenhoven and Stephen Bunting, there was not much missing that the fans not only influenced the game, but also decided it. Kuivenhoven, unnerved by the disruptive manoeuvre, threatened to relinquish victory and in the end only narrowly advanced 6:5 thanks to the Englishman’s missed chances. Caller George Noble’s admonishing words hadn’t helped either.
A process that brought Philip Brzezinski to the stage microphone after the match. “If the majority wants Stephen Bunting to win, that’s okay. Then Stephen Bunting cheers, calls Stephen Bunting’s name, but please,” said the Master of Ceremonies and continued almost pleadingly: “The whistles and boos when the boys throw doubles is really not needed. Stop it. We don’t need that in darts at all, and I’ll tell you one thing: the boys don’t want to win like that either. The boys don’t want to win like that.”
At the event in Hildesheim, Brzezinski, who moderated the program from the stage on the European Tour and conducted the interviews with the winners, had clearly called the fans to reason.
Words that give the PDC Europe attitude and also make it clear that the darts audience should by no means be taken into clan custody. As in Hildesheim, the overwhelming majority responded with applause.
Otherwise there was not much to applaud on Friday from a German point of view. Lukas Wenig had already lost 3:6 against Andrew Gilding in the afternoon, followed in the evening by Niko Kurz (4:6 against Rowby-John Rodriguez) and also Gabriel Clemens.
The German number one lost 3:6 to Dave Chisnall after a poor performance. When the man from Saarwelling won his first leg to make it 1:3, he had an average of 76 points. In the sixth leg he showed his skills again and checked after seven perfect darts in eleven darts to make it 2:4, but otherwise fell short of expectations.
Schindler now against Rob Cross
Chisnall struggled more with the aimed whistles than his opponent. After the Englishman still hit double one in the third attempt in the middle of the match, he demonstratively put his hand to his ear and ironically extended his thumb towards the audience. It’s annoying – organizers, other fans and also the players.
Martin Schindler’s match showed how fascinating darts can be with a great atmosphere and top sporting performance. “I was really nervous, especially at the beginning. My heart is still beating. I’m really shaking,” admitted the 25-year-old, impressed by the volume and vehemence with which the Leverkusen crowd cheered him on.
Convincing performance with a spectacular end: Martin Schindler now meets Robb Cross
Source: PDC Europe/Kais Bodensieck
A strong performance and no less intensive support led to a 6:2 victory for Schindler over Ritchie Edhouse. The German corrected the loss of serve in the first leg directly with the rebreak and then came into play better and better under the frenetic cheering. He consistently punished Edhouse’s first missed chances with the break to make it 4:2 and a little later checked 85 points spectacularly via the bullseye to win.
Schindler, the German player in the best form since the beginning of the year, meets top player Rob Cross in the second round on Saturday (live from 1 p.m. on Sport1 and DAZN). “I’m looking forward to it,” said Schindler and exuded determination, referring to his Rammstein walk-on song: “I want.”
Results
1 round:
Luke Woodhouse (ENG) – Mickey Mansell (NIR) 6:0
Darren Penhall (ENG) – Luc Peters (NED) 6: 0
Dennis Nilsson (SWE) – Martin Lukeman (ENG) 6: 3
Josh Rock (NIR) – Connor Scutt (ENG) 6:0
Scott Williams (ENG) – Adam Gawlas (CZE) 6: 5
Krzysztof Kciuk (POL) – Keane Barry (IRL) 6: 3
Andrew Gilding (ENG) – Lukas Little (GER) 6:3
Devon Petersen (RSA) – Kevin Doets (NED) 6:5
Maik Kuivenhoven (NED) – Stephen Bunting (ENG) 6: 5
Daryl Gurney (NIR) – Kevin Burness (NIR) 6:5
Berry van Peer (NED) – Jermaine Wattimena (NED) 6: 4
Cameron Menzies (SCO) – Ian White (ENG) 6:3
Martin Schindler (GER) – Ritchie Edhouse (ENG) 6:2
Rowby-John Rodriguez (AUT) – Nico Kurz (GER) 6:4
Dave Chisnall (ENG) – Gabriel Clemens (GER) 6:3
2nd round:
Krzysztof Ratajski (POL) – Josh Rock (NIR)
Jose de Sousa (POR) – Dennis Nilsson (SWE)
Dirk van Duijvenbode (NED) – Maik Kuivenhoven (NED)
Brendan Dolan (NIR) – Andrew Gilding (ENG)
Ryan Searle (ENG) – Krzysztof Kciuk (POL)
Dimitri Van den Bergh (BEL) – Cameron Menzies (SCO)
James Wade (ENG) – Berry van Peer (NED)
Joe Cullen (ENG) – Devon Petersen (RSA)
Luke Humphries (ENG) – Darren Penhall (ENG)
Nathan Aspinall (ENG) – Karel Sedlacek (CZE)
Gerwyn Price (WAL) – Luke Woodhouse (ENG)
Michael van Gerwen (NED) – Daryl Gurney (NIR)
Peter Wright (SCO) – Scott Williams (ENG)
Jonny Clayton (WAL) – Rowby-John Rodriguez (AUT)
Rob Cross (ENG) – Martin Schindler (GER)
Damon Heta (AUS) – Dave Chisnall (ENG)
