Martin Schindler wins the Swiss Darts Trophy after surviving seven match darts.

How he did it…

On the third day of the Swiss Euro Tour, the German Number One faced Stephen Bunting in his opening game. With a magnificent 127 checkout in the first leg of the match, the Great Wall quickly took a three-leg lead over the Masters Champion. The Englishman then responded with three of his own.

Bunting was wasteful on the outer ring, missing  a total of 13; nonetheless, Schindler’s 54.55% checkout rate proved to be the difference, as he emerged victorious 6-4.

Resulting in a quarterfinal clash with the seasoned Dutchman Raymond Van Barneveld; nevertheless, again, a 54.55% checkout was sufficient. Just with his encounter with Stephen Bunting, the game got underway in a similar manner. Schlinder won the first two legs before the match was leveled again.

After exchanging a leg each, Martin Schindler won two on the spin, putting him only one win away from the win.

He finished the game against Barney with a sublime 160, adding to his other ton plus checkouts.

He faced Josh Rock in the semi-final, and both his average and checkout rate increased, contributing to a commanding performance. Rock, whose average was just below 100, would only win two legs in the match and lament his lost chances for double.

He would face Ryan Searle in the Swiss Darts Trophy final after defeating Rocky seven legs to two. Schindler had the opportunity to add to his International Darts Open trophy after taking home his maiden ranking title back in April.

Numerous people anticipated that this would be a huge Basel hit after both players’ outstanding and commanding performances in the semifinals. The game went the distance, but the narrative of Searle missing an incredible 22 darts at double was the difference.

For the first time on the third day, Schindler’s opponent surged into an early lead. Five of the first six legs were claimed by Heavy Metal, who also took out a beautiful 124 along the road.

Shortly after, Martin Schlinder’s 142 checkout provided the ideal amount of momentum for leg seven.

The German overcame a three-leg deficit to tie the match at seven-seven. Schlinder then maintained composure to win the crucial last leg with a 32 checkout after enduring an incredible seven match darts. Though, with Searle positioned back on 233, it’s fair to say he was not in immediate danger.

Elsewhere in Swiss Darts Trophy

Following Callan Rydz’s loss against a relentless Ryan Searle, Luke Woodhouse’s spot in the top 16 of the Order of Merit was verified, making him the last player to qualify for the World Grand Prix.

 

He did, however, get revenge on James Wade for his narrow 6-5 loss a few days before, crushing the Machine six legs to two. He was wasteful on the outer ring in their previous encounter, but the Riot recorded a 50% checkout rate in this encounter, so there was no indication of it.

Luke Littler was knocked out in the second game of the day in the Swiss Darts Trophy, by World Champion Luke Humphries, who again proved to be too strong. Littler was only allowed a mere eight attempts at doubles, but only pinned a total of three. Subsequently losing to World Cup winner Luke Humphries by 6 legs to 3.

Super Chin put on yet another impressive performance, but would lose to eventual runner-up Ryan Searle in the quarterfinals. But in his first game of the day, he beat the returning Nathan Aspinall, by six legs to three, with an average that was just under 100.

 

Final Day – 2024 Swiss Darts Trophy

Last 16

Josh Rock 6-4 Rob Cross

Luke Humphries 6-3 Luke Littler

Stephen Bunting 4-6 Martin Schindler

Ross Smith 4-6 Raymond van Barneveld

Cameron Menzies 5-6 Callan Rydz

James Wade 6-4 Wessel Nijman

Madars Razma 2-6 Ryan Searle

Nathan Aspinall 3-6 Daryl Gurney

 

Quarter Finals

Josh Rock 6-1 Luke Humphries

Martin Schindler 6-4 Raymond van Barneveld

Callan Rydz 6-2 James Wade

Ryan Searle 6-2 Daryl Gurney

 

Semi Finals

Josh Rock 2-7 Martin Schindler

Callan Rydz 1-7 Ryan Searle

Final

Martin Schindler 8-7 Ryan Searle