It was history for Martin Schindler as he became just the third German player to win a PDC senior title. He beat Gerwyn Price in the final, 8-5, to claim the NEO.bet International Darts Open in Reisa. It’s amazing how far he’s come! 10 years ago he was a steward at the European tour and fast forward 10 years, he’s now won it. An absolutely incredible story! To do it on home soil as well, in front of a packed arena in Reisa, was an unbelievable moment. Martin said after the match, “ I’ve invested so much, and right now, I might just be the happiest man on earth!”. Schindler played well all weekend. It was well deserved, that he went on to win the tournament. See match stats below. Keep scrolling for Premier League Night 12 Rotterdam Preview.
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Premier League Night 12 Rotterdam Preview
The Premier League heads to Rotterdam for Night 12. The first game of the evening is an all English affair, with Michael Smith taking on Luke Littler. Smith got knocked out by the eventual winner last week in the semi-finals, losing 6-4 to Michael Van Gerwen. However, Smith did gain ground on fourth spot, and is now only one point away. Littler remains top of the table even after getting to the final last week in Birmingham, losing 6-3 to Van Gerwen in a below par performance. The last time these two met each other was all the way back to night six. Smith won 6 legs to 3, progressing through to the final. Smith is slowly picking up points and keeping himself in touching distance from the top four. I think this is the week he jumps into that fourth spot. I’m going to go against the odds and say Michael wins this one, in a very tight match!
The next match up of the evening is sixth v seventh, Rob Cross against Gerwyn Price. Cross has had an awful last couple of weeks after a decent start to his Premier League campaign. He has now failed to pick up points since night six, which is why he is seven points off fourth place. It’s been the opposite for Price, after an awful start to his campaign, he has just started to pick up some points in the recent weeks. Getting to the final in Manchester has really helped him, after he hit that nine darter. This match is really tough to call but I’m just going to go with Gerwyn Price, just because of his recent form. He played really well in Germany at the weekend, getting to the final and averaging 115 in one of his matches along the way.
Bottom of the table Peter Wright comes up against Nathan Aspinall, in the third match of the evening. It’s been one to forget for Wright this Premier League. He sits bottom of the table on four points, with a whopping -27 leg difference. Last time out, he gave the world champ, Luke Humphries, a good match. Wright was 4-1 up against Luke. Unfortunately for Wright, Humphries came back to win 6-4. Aspinall has been playing some really good stuff this campaign. He lost in the quarters last week to the winner of the night Van Gerwen, but most weeks Nathan has been picking up points, which is why he finds himself in fourth place. The last time this pair met, was on night nine, in the semi-finals. Aspinall comfortably dispatched Wright, winning 6-2. I can only see the same happening again, with Nathan Aspinall progressing through to the semi-final.
The last quarter-final of the evening is the one everyone will be looking forward to, especially the 16,000 people inside the Rotterdam Ahoy Arena on Thursday night. Michael Van Gerwen takes on Luke Humphries! Van Gerwen is coming off the back of winning his fourth night in this year’s Premier League in Birmingham last week. He will be full of confidence and excited to get out there and play in front of his home crowd. Humphries lost to Littler last week in the semi-finals, so he’s now lost six in a row against the teenage sensation. I’m sure Humphries won’t be too concerned about that, as he still sits second in the table, only two points off Luke Littler. Humphries and Van Gerwen haven’t faced each other since night 5 in the Premier League, where Luke won 6-3. I think this is going to be a cracking match, but for me, the sea of orange behind them, will really help Michael get over the line. Trust me, it will be some sight if he does!
Who will come out on top in Rotterdam ?
I think that this will be a magical night of darts in Rotterdam, with plenty of big checkouts and maybe even a perfect leg. From the top side of the draw, I’m going to go with the Welshmen, Gerwyn Price, getting to the final. His form recently has been really good, he obviously hit that nine darter in Manchester and in the European tour, he’s been averaging over 110 on multiple occasions, which is just astonishing! In the bottom half of the draw, I think it’s going to be the crowd favourite in Rotterdam, Michael Van Gerwen, making it through to the final. Then I see the Dutchman going on to claim another nightly win, in front of a sea of 16,000 people, all dressed in orange!
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This event is organised by the Professional Darts Corporation.