Martin Schindler reaches first European Championship quarter-final, van Veen out in Dortmund

Schindler reaches the quarter-finals for the first time

Martin Schindler became the last German left in the European Championship in Dortmund on Saturday, 24 October, after beating Jermaine Wattimena of the Netherlands 10-4 in the Westfalenhalle. It is the first time the 30-year-old has reached the quarter-finals of this event. Wattimena is ranked 18th in the world. Schindler had opened his campaign with a tense 6-5 win over Wessel Nijman and came through the last-16 round with the home crowd behind him. He won three breaks, benefited from a 55 percent checkout rate and finished with an average of 90.25. In the quarter-finals he will face either Jonny Clayton of Wales or Josh Rock of Northern Ireland, two players who were also scheduled to meet on Saturday evening.

Before the match Schindler spoke about the pressure of expectations at a home tournament.

“We are vulnerable, things can go badly for us at some point.”

Van Veen goes out to a long-time rival

Gian van Veen, the defending champion, lost 6-10 to Luke Woodhouse, the English player ranked 18th in the world. Van Veen had never beaten Woodhouse in their three earlier meetings, and the fourth one ended the same way in Dortmund. He started with an early break and then lost two legs in a row, before a 142 finish kept him in the match. Van Veen looked tired as the game went on, and after missing three darts at double 20 he watched Woodhouse convert his first match dart. A year earlier Van Veen had beaten Luke Humphries in the final to win his first title at this tournament. Earlier this year he lost the world championship final to Luke Littler.

Dutch hopes shrink to one player

Eight Dutch players started the tournament, which equalled the country's own record for the event, but only Jermaine Wattimena is still in it. Michael van Gerwen, a former world number one, lost 3-6 to Kevin Doets in the first round on Friday, 23 October. Dirk van Duijvenbode, Danny Noppert, Niels Zonneveld and Wessel Nijman also lost in their opening matches. Doets was beaten 10-8 by Krzysztof Ratajski of Poland in the second round after leading 4-0 and 7-5. The 28-year-old must wait longer for his first quarter-final in this kind of PDC event.

What comes next

Later on Saturday, 24 October, Luke Littler, the 19-year-old world number one, is due to play Nathan Aspinall. The winner of Jonny Clayton against Josh Rock will meet Schindler in the quarter-finals. Van Veen now turns to the Grand Slam of Darts and the Players Championship Finals, which are the last preparation events before the world championship.