German Darts Masters (WS)

The 2018 German Darts Masters featured a record before one single dart was thrown. The Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, normally the home of German football club Schalke 04, was packed with a record-breaking 20,000 spectators. The tournament was played start to finish on May 25th in one day, which was also a first for the World Series. Mensur Suljovic won the historical event. The Austrian claimed his second big televised title beating Dimitri Van den Bergh, the tournament’s surprise, in a one-sided contest: 8-2.

Suljovic was not tested at all in the semi-finals in Gelsenkirchen. He overcame Peter Wright, who seemed to struggle with air movement on the stage. Suljovic mastered the circumstances easily and demolished Wright 8-2. In the quarterfinals he faced a tough game against Rob Cross, but a tight victory brought him in the semi finals. Wright eliminated Raymond van Barneveld in a fifteenth and final leg.

The German crowd witnessed the early defeat of all their local heroes, eight in total. Dimitri van den Bergh showed great form with an impressive win over Martin Schindler, averaging almost 110 per three darts. The top favourites met each other in the quarterfinals, seeing Van den Bergh show another masterpiece by defeating Michael van Gerwen. The fairytale of the young Belgian continued in the semi-finals. Gary Anderson could not find a way to handle Van den Bergh and The Dreammaker progressed to his first big televised final.