When Ross Smith was asked to interview the winner, Martin Schindler had to turn away. Not out of a lack of respect, but out of an attempt to still control his emotions. But at that moment, when the focus wasn't on him, Schindler burst out. They were tears of liberation and tears of pride at the historically best performance that a German darts professional has ever achieved at one of the major major tournaments.
Even when he was called to the microphone on stage in Dortmund's Westfalenhalle, the tears had not yet dried. With teary eyes and a faltering voice, the German number one summarized: "When I started playing professional darts ten years ago, I didn't expect anything. Now I was in a final at a major tournament. I did everything to win it. But I'm just happy." After the interview, he raised his loser's trophy several times and said a fitting farewell to the 7,000 spectators who had turned the hall into a madhouse during his games.
That evening, Schindler presented himself as a good loser after the 8:11 final defeat at the European Championship and reminded us that second places in darts can also be celebrated appropriately - even if they are actually of little value because, unlike in most sports, there are no silver or even bronze medals. Titles are the only things that count in a star's CV.
“It’s a big milestone,” said the still emotional Schindler at the press conference. He recalled the difficult time in his career. "I'm not having a good year. I lost too many games, I missed the World Grand Prix. And now I've made it to the final of a damn major. I'm very happy about it. That's how darts is sometimes. You don't feel like you're playing what you can and then you get to the final."
In fact, this year German darts fans could become fearful and anxious in view of the low performance that Schindler had fallen into. At the beginning of the season, a 0:6 with an average of 65 in the first Players Championship tournament caused a lot of guesswork. There were also many early defeats on the Pro Tour and European Tour. Schindler was repeatedly troubled by outliers in the five-man segment. In the world rankings he slipped from 13th place out of the top 20. He also qualified for the unofficial European Championships with a shock victory in the do-or-die duel against the Czech Karel Sedlacek at the last European Tour tournament.
And then came this long weekend in Dortmund – and all the problems seemed to disappear. First round against Wessel Nijman, one of this year's starters? Shaky, but survived. Second round against Jermaine Wattimena? Not yet convincing, but confident. Quarterfinals against top star Jonny Clayton? Probably the best game of Schindler's major career. Semifinal against Krzysztof Ratajski? Dominant and safe. Only in the final was he stopped by Smith, the number one seed. But Schindler fought here too, was already 2:8 behind and almost turned the game around.
“I had to fight for so long to get to where I am now,” Schindler said at the press conference. For Schindler, this is perhaps an even bigger win than the £80,000 prize money and the sporting qualification for next month's Grand Slam, which he has now ticked off.
The 30-year-old can show his soft side and is accepted for it. At the World Cup last winter, the stubborn Schindler dominated the headlines. The man from Strausberg was dissatisfied with Sport1's reporting and had boycotted the station for interviews. His elimination in the third round could be explained, at least in part, by the fact that he had unnecessarily taken up sideshows.
“I speak for many men: We are vulnerable”
Now he appeared much more approachable. Even after the opening win against Nijman, Schindler was surprisingly open about his fight against his self-doubt. “I'm currently only playing against myself and it's annoying,” said Schindler at the press conference on Friday. "It's just an annoying situation to always know that the only Lego brick that's in the way is you. And the Lego brick isn't just a Lego brick, it's a really big wall."
He worked with a mental coach and gained insight that goes far beyond the right technique on the oche or the right thoughts on stage. "It's good to talk about bad experiences, about bad feelings, about bad experiences. And I think I'm talking for a lot of men in particular that it's really good to admit: We are vulnerable, things can go bad for us," said Schindler. Even after the final, he emphasized again: "This year I doubted a lot and often. Denise and her style in particular inspired me a lot. She carried me on her back."
He should keep this openness, because it's precisely through such sympathetic insights that you get the fans on your side, even if things don't go well. In any case, expectations from Germany are unlikely to diminish. Germany is still looking for the darts superstar, someone like Luke Littler, who has a chance of winning the big tournaments in a row.
It is the final expansion stage that is still missing from the booming sport in this country. A German victory in a major tournament could have ignited them. Perhaps there would soon have been talk of a small Martin Schindler effect in view of the number of members and sales in the industry. Everyone still has to be patient. But if Schindler's sporting and personal situation continues as it did in Dortmund, a big title seems to be only a matter of time.
