Ross Smith beats Schindler 11:8 in the European Championship final – Littler falls to Ratajski
Ross Smith wins the European Championship: 11:8 in the final against Martin Schindler. The German reached the final with a 10:1 over Clayton and 11:6 against Ratajski.
Ross Smith is European champion. In the final the Englishman beat Martin Schindler 11:8 and ended the run of the German, who had swept Jonny Clayton aside 10:1 in the quarter-final. Neither finalist threw the highest match Average of the tournament: Luke Littler hit 114,47 in the last 16 against Nathan Aspinall – and was out one round later.
Ross Smith's road to the title at the European Championship
- Last 32: 6:4 against Karel Sedlácek (91,83)
- Last 16: 10:7 against Damon Heta (96,19)
- Quarter-final: 10:6 against Luke Woodhouse (107,00)
- Semi-final: 11:7 against Gerwyn Price (92,55)
- Final: 11:8 against Martin Schindler (92,92)
Smith stayed below 93 in both decisive matches: in the semi-final Price threw the higher Average with 93,69 and still lost 7:11. His strongest display came a round earlier, when he knocked Woodhouse (103,40) out of the tournament with 107,00.
European Championship: how the German-speaking players fared
| Player | Record | Average | Out in round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Schindler | 4:1 | 95,42 | Final |
| Niko Springer | 0:1 | 95,76 | Last 32 |
Schindler won his opening match 6:5 against Wessel Nijman, followed by 10:4 against Jermaine Wattimena, the 10:1 against Clayton and 11:6 against Krzysztof Ratajski. Niko Springer ran into Jonny Clayton as early as the last 32 and lost 3:6 – at 95,76 his match Average was above Schindler's tournament Average.
The highlights of the European Championship: Littler's 114,47 in the last 16
| Player | Match Average | Match |
|---|---|---|
| Luke Littler | 114,47 | Last 16, 10:5 against Nathan Aspinall |
| Ross Smith | 107,00 | Quarter-final, 10:6 against Luke Woodhouse |
| Nathan Aspinall | 105,57 | Last 16, 5:10 against Luke Littler |
| Kim Huybrechts | 103,81 | Last 32, 6:1 against Ryan Searle |
| Luke Woodhouse | 103,40 | Quarter-final, 6:10 against Ross Smith |
| Martin Schindler | 103,16 | Quarter-final, 10:1 against Jonny Clayton |
| Gerwyn Price | 103,03 | Quarter-final, 10:3 against Stephen Bunting |
The last 16 tie between Aspinall and Littler was statistically the strongest match of the tournament: 105,57 was not enough for Aspinall to take more than five Legs. Michael van Gerwen, by contrast, was out after the first round – 3:6 against Kevin Doets with 95,70.
The European Championship in numbers: Averages and results
The best Averages
| Player | Tournament Average | Best match Average | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luke Littler | 106,20 | 114,47 | 2:1 |
| Luke Woodhouse | 101,26 | 103,40 | 2:1 |
| Kim Huybrechts | 99,40 | 103,81 | 1:1 |
| Nathan Aspinall | 99,25 | 105,57 | 1:1 |
| Ryan Searle | 98,59 | 98,59 | 0:1 |
The finalists in numbers
| Ross Smith | Martin Schindler | |
|---|---|---|
| Tournament Average | 96,10 | 95,42 |
| Best match Average | 107,00 | 103,16 |
| Record | 5:0 | 4:1 |
| Average in the final | 92,92 | 91,49 |
Results from the quarter-finals on
| Round | Fixture | Result | Averages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter-final | Ross Smith – Luke Woodhouse | 10:6 | 107,00 : 103,40 |
| Quarter-final | Gerwyn Price – Stephen Bunting | 10:3 | 103,03 : 95,20 |
| Quarter-final | Martin Schindler – Jonny Clayton | 10:1 | 103,16 : 98,92 |
| Quarter-final | Krzysztof Ratajski – Luke Littler | 10:6 | 100,79 : 99,08 |
| Semi-final | Ross Smith – Gerwyn Price | 11:7 | 92,55 : 93,69 |
| Semi-final | Martin Schindler – Krzysztof Ratajski | 11:6 | 98,88 : 93,39 |
| Final | Ross Smith – Martin Schindler | 11:8 | 92,92 : 91,49 |
A total of 31 matches were played, with the 32 participants coming from twelve nations.
Conclusion
The five highest tournament Averages belonged to players who went out in the quarter-finals at the latest – Smith took the title with 96,10 and exactly one match above 100. Schindler was the only German-speaking player to get past the first round, reaching the final via 103,16 against Clayton and 98,88 against Ratajski.