All four remaining Germans were eliminated in the third round of the Darts World Cup. There was criticism from world champion Michael van Gerwen for his performance and appearance.
Arno Merk’s answer to the question of how the World Cup debutant’s evening would continue after his elimination was that he wanted to toast his achievement in a London pub with his friends who had traveled with him. The World Cup debutant and darts amateur was happy to answer journalists’ questions – despite the defeat: “Everything is going well. I’m happy with it and proud of my performance,” said Merk.
The other German participants were not as willing to provide information as Merk. Gabriel Clemens, Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko were also eliminated in the third round. Participation in the press conference after the games is not obligatory for the losers. The three were happy to make use of this rule and avoided interviews as much as possible.
Too much pressure, too much attention?
The three professionals struggled with the attention, the expectations, the pressure and the supposedly harsh criticism after defeats. The three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen had little understanding for this: “You should be happy to have interviews. On the day when nobody wants an interview anymore…” said van Gerwen and ended his sentence with a whistle and a hand gesture that was intended to demonstrate a crash. “The more they talk about you, the more interviews you have, the more important you are,” said the Dutchman.
Van Gerwen also had few good words for the German participants in terms of sport: “A country like Germany should have more players in the absolute top class. They have to go to the practice board,” said van Gerwen with a grin and added ironically, “You should train with me more often.”
More German participants than before
World Cup debutant Arno Merk countered his opponent: “The breadth has become incredibly strong, and the young players are already really good. If we continue like this, there will soon be more than twelve German tour card holders.” For the first time this year, eight Germans took part in the World Cup in the Ally Pally. The fact that four of them made it to round three had only happened once before, at the 2024 World Cup. It is therefore a matter of time before this development also becomes apparent in the hot phase of a World Cup, says Merk.
In 2025, Germany was only world class in terms of spectators. “That was a bit strange. I thought we were in England, not Germany,” said Ryan Searle, surprised at the loud fan chants during his game against Martin Schindler. Thousands of darts fans from Germany made the pilgrimage to London; depending on the session, according to the organizers, up to a third of the spectators at the Ally Pally are from Germany. “It was fun to calm the crowd down and at the end everyone was shouting my name,” said Searle after his win against Schindler.
Mixed conclusion
“It wasn’t a sensational World Cup, but it was still a good one. The game today wasn’t particularly bad, nor was it good,” is how Schindler himself classified his performance at this World Cup. Overall, the World Cup conclusion from the German camp is mixed. Despite all the disappointment, World Cup debutant Arno Merk was not the only German participant who was able to leave the Ally Pally on a positive note.
Despite the defeat against former world champion Luke Humphries, Gabriel Clemens drove home with a new German record average. Against Luke Humphries he averaged 101.49 points. There was also praise from his opponent: “I told him: Really a great game, Gabriel. Stick with it,” said Humphries after the match.