The German number one started the 2026 Darts World Cup with a convincing performance. Martin Schindler defeated Stephen Burton and set a personal record. This means that there are again five Germans in the second round.
He played as if this stage was nothing special. As if all the negative memories didn’t exist. Martin Schindler is in the second round of the Darts World Cup after a convincing performance. He defeated Stephen Burton 3-1. An average of 99.14 points per shot was the third-highest tournament average to date after superstar Luke Littler and Wessel Nijman and his personal World Cup record.
In his previous six World Cup appearances he had lost his opener four times. His sobering record: 2:6 wins. But there was no sign of this at any time late on Wednesday evening. “I’m very, very impressed with him,” commentator Glen Durrant said on British TV.
The start was clear and confident. He took the throw from the Englishman to make it 2-1 and then checked 94 points to lead the set. His average was also impressive: 97.65 points. That meant there were already as many legs as a year ago, when he surprisingly lost 3-0 to Callan Rydz at the start.
However, no others came after the first break. Burton made the break in 15 darts and confirmed it with 17 darts to make it 2-0. The fact that he again got 15 darts for the 3-0 was also due to the fact that in the previous recording Schindler had missed the single 20 with 60 points remaining and therefore only received one instead of two darts on tops.
In the third round the problems initially continued. Schindler threw three arrows past double 18, but was given another opportunity to break early. After five errors in a row, the German number one, placed in 13th position, made a successful adjustment.
Schindler shaves Burton
He was able to allow himself a few slackers afterwards, as his opponent weakened and, above all, he himself scored impressively. The 29-year-old was beyond any doubt when it came to scoring, even scratched the 100 mark in the third set, hit double 10 to make it 2-0 and checked tops to make it 2-1 after sets.
To the delight of his new sponsor, Schindler signed a bathroom photo that he shared on his social media accounts before the match with “Pretty up and get ready for tonight.” Now he shaved Burton.
With the score at 2-0, he was once again close to the 100 mark thanks to his seventh 180 (99.70) and two shots later converted his first match dart on double 20 to win.
“I feel good, played well overall, but also missed a few chances in the second set,” said Schindler matter-of-factly, but was very satisfied: “It couldn’t have been worse than last year. I was pretty relaxed.”
Subscribe to WELTMeister Spotify, Apple Podcasts or directly via RSS-Feed.
Burton, number 67 on the Order of Merit, loses his tour card. He would have needed that opening victory in order to be able to play on the ProTour for another year.
Matt Campbell had also lost the fight for a place in the top 64 earlier in the evening. The Canadian lost 1:3 to the American Adam Sevada. Mario Vandenbogaerde can therefore continue to hope. The Belgian is currently in 64th place, but could still be pushed into the round of 16 if an outsider makes a surprising advance.
Stefan Bellmont will be new on the tour. He was the first Swiss ever to win a match at the World Championships and is in the second round after beating Raymond van Barneveld 3-0. “That was the biggest game of my career. I’m very proud of myself,” said the 36-year-old.
With Schindler, Ricardo Pietreczko, Gabriel Clemens, Max Hopp and Arno Merk, five Germans have so far made it to the second round of the World Cup, which will be played from Saturday to Tuesday. Dominik Grüllich will be the last German to take part in the tournament on Thursday against the Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena. At the last World Cup, five Germans reached the second round.
If Lutz Wöckener Not exactly trying out any sport on his own, he writes about darts and sports politics, but sometimes also about offbeat things like football.
Darts World Cup 2026, results, 1st round
- Matt Campbell (CAN) – Adam Sevada (USA) 1:3 (1:3, 3:2, 2:3, 0:3)
- Raymond van Barneveld (NED) – Stefan Bellmont (SUI) 0:3 (1:3, 0:3, 1:3)
- James Wade (ENG/7) – Ryusei Azemoto (JPN) 3:0 (3:1, 3:0, 3:0)
- Martin Schindler (D/13) – Stephen Burton (ENG) 3:1 (3:1, 0:3, 3:0, 3:0)
