Martin Schindler intensifies the fight for the German number two
Here darts professional Martin Schindler imitates his colleagues
Martin Schindler is not only one of the best German darts professionals. He is also an excellent impersonator. Here he recreates six world-class players. Do you recognize these players?
After the botched start to the Pro Tour, the German darts professionals were able to improve. Martin Schindler made it to the round of 16 and can hope to take part in the World Cup. The 25-year-old is almost level with Max Hopp and Florian Hempel.
VBefore the start of the Pro Tour on Saturday, Martin Schindler spoke again in the social networks: “I’m curious to see what’s going on this season,” wrote the 25-year-old. After the first two of 28 tournaments it can be stated: possibly (like last year) quite a lot.
On Saturday, Schindler was eliminated in the second round by Rowby-John Rodriguez. Not a great start, although the previous 6-5 win over Jonathan Worsley meant he was the only German alongside tour newcomer Ricardo Pietreczko to win a game at Barnsley.
Schindler made it to the round of 16 on Sunday. The Strausberger, who has been living in Hesse for six months, won against the Belgians Mike de Decker (6:3) and Mario Vandenbogaerde (6:2) and showed strong nerves. In the 6-4 in the round of 32 against Connor Scutt, he was already 1-4 down and went on to win five legs in a row.
Strong performance: Martin Schindler won five legs in a row to advance to the round of 16
Source: pa / SvenSimon / Elmar Kremser / SVEN SIMON
And even in the round of 16 it shouldn’t have been over yet. Schindler played a strong average of 99.55 against the Englishman Stephen Burton, but only hit 20 percent of his attempts on the doubles court and was eliminated 3:6, a little under value.
Climbing into the top 16 brought The Wall £2,000 in prize money, which saw him move up two places in the Order of Merit, leapfrogging Ritchie Edhouse and John Henderson to 64th.
Hempel, Hopp and Schindler on par
The race for the German number two behind Gabriel Clemens could hardly be more exciting. Florian Hempel is in 62nd place, Max Hopp in 63rd place and Schindler just one behind. The trio separate £1500 in prize money. Only one of the three players, Gabriel Clemens, will be able to represent Germany at the World Cup in front of his home crowd in Frankfurt/Main from June 16th to 19th.
However, Schindler’s competitors also won their first matches on Sunday. Hempel was once again unlucky to win. After beating Jason Heaver 6-2 in the second round, the man from Cologne was eliminated by world number one Gerwyn Price (4-6).
Difficult task: Florian Hempel met Gerwyn Price in the second lap
Quelle: Getty Images/Luke Walker
Hopp showed increasing form and made it into the top 32 thanks to wins against Jake Jones (6:1) and Adrian Lewis (6:5). There, Boris Krcmar from Croatia was the last stop (1:6).
And the German number one was also able to make up for the false start on Saturday. Clemens won against the Dutchman Martijn Kleermaker (6:5) and Luke Woodhouse from England (6:2), but missed a round of 16 duel with Peter Wright in the surprising 2:6 against Lee Evans.
World champion confirms his status: Peter Wright won the second Players Championship in Barnsley
Quelle: Getty Images/Luke Walker
The World Champion later secured the tournament win with an 8:5 win over Price, closing the gap at the top of the world rankings to just £5,500. “I didn’t think I’d be number one before March, but if I keep going like this and win tournaments, it could happen before that,” Wright said. The German number two and number one in the world – there could be shifts as early as next weekend.
