A look at the German Darts Grand Prix: Historic nine-dart finish, Heta delights with popular walk-on and Ryan Joyce's fan club

It was a weekend that darts Germany will not soon forget. The German Darts Grand Prix 2025 transformed Munich into a madhouse of triple 20s, provided goosebump moments, curious fan stories - and even wrote a little piece of darts history.

The atmosphere was buzzing, the hall was buzzing and one highlight followed the next on stage. Reason enough to look back on a weekend full of passion, legends and laughter - and on the stories that made this event so special.

No sooner had the darts fans gathered at Munich's Zenith on Saturday afternoon, stocked up on cool drinks and snacks and watched the rather unspectacular opening duel between Madars Razma and Danny Noppert, than they were already being vocally challenged: "Skandal im Sperrbezirk" blared from the loudspeakers, Damon Heta took to the stage - and the crowd danced on the beer benches.

For all those who are not from the Munich area (or haven't listened to the radio since the 80s): "Skandal im Sperrbezirk" is not just a song - it's an anthem. With this cheeky catchy tune about the fictional prostitute "Rosi", the Spider Murphy Gang not only delivered one of the biggest German-language hits in the early 80s, but also a musical monument to Munich's wilder nights. The song is deeply rooted in Bavarian pop culture heritage - and when the first bars are played, there is no stopping Munich. The fact that Damon Heta of all people performed this classic for his walk-on was not only a brilliant idea, but perhaps the cleverest crowd-puller of the weekend.

In sporting terms, however, the rousing walk-on did not give the Australian the boost he had hoped for: after a disappointing performance and an average of just 84 points, Damon Heta was clearly defeated 0-6 by Ryan Joyce.

A result that sent one particular group in the audience into ecstasy: the (presumably) first and only German Ryan Joyce fan club. His supporters had positioned themselves in the front row on Sunday afternoon - and were even announced by Master of Ceremonies Philip Brzezinski himself.

"I have a few friends who are also big darts fans. At some point, we started thinking about who we actually like and want to support. And then we thought: Ryan Joyce is just a sweet, cool guy. Above all, he's not a player that everyone likes - and one who needs fans," said Julius from the Ryan Joyce fan club in an interview with Dartsnews.de.

The fan club had already supported the 39-year-old Englishman from the front row last year. "We've been on the road as Ryan Joyce fans for a year and a half now - we already had our outfits at the start." Just a few minutes after the 6-0 whitewash victory over Heta, the Relentless fans had euphoria written all over their faces. "That was absolutely outstanding - Ryan Joyce, simply a legend!" Julius summed up enthusiastically.

However, it wasn't just Relentless Ryan Joyce who could rely on the support of the Munich crowd: Martin Schindler once again became the undisputed crowd favorite at the German Darts Grand Prix - and created an absolute goosebump atmosphere in the Zenith during his matches. Get your own impression in the video below:

In an exclusive interview with Dartsnews.de, Schindler enthused about the support in the Bavarian capital: "I just know that I'm very welcome here - I'm very, very grateful to the people of Munich for that. I think the atmosphere here is really great - of course it's always on my side, so it feels even better. Even though we don't have a major winner or world champion in Germany, I think it's great to see that we can create such an atmosphere. And the Zenith Hall in Munich is really on a whole different level."

Schindler has many special memories of the Munich venue. He made national headlines in 2022 when he defeated Ryan Searle with a record average of over 109 points - giving his career a decisive kick-start. Last year, Schindler even reached the semi-finals before playing his way to the final again in 2025. Love at first sight, you could say.

Michael van Gerwen also provided a moment of love when he blew a kiss to the Munich fans in his match against Ryan Searle. The reason for this was a historic 9-dart leg - the first perfect leg on Munich soil in PDC history!

In an interview with Dartsnews.com after the match, van Gerwen also emphasized his special gratitude to the fans at the Zenith: "The crowd is amazing, I think one of the best crowds in Germany I've played for, they've been so grateful to me. It's super cool."

Anyone who experienced the German Darts Grand Prix live on site not only got to see world-class darts - but also an impressive look behind the scenes of a perfectly coordinated crew. The PDC Europe impressed with real team spirit at the weekend: everyone pitched in wherever they were needed, whether on stage, backstage or in the middle of the audience.

A particularly good example of this passion is Franz Engerer, caller and referee for PDC Europe. While he was still shaking the hall with his iconic 180 chant on Monday afternoon, he was on duty at the fan entrance shortly before the start of the evening session: focused, with a smile on his face - and busy handing out admission wristbands to the fans.

At the same time, Master of Ceremonies Philip Brzezinski was also under constant pressure. Before each session, he fired up the audience, kept an eye out for special stories and guests and put his heart and soul into organizing the popular fan walk-on. As soon as the last "Munich, are you ready for darts?" had faded away, he routinely conducted the player walk-ons - and found himself in the mixed zone on Monday evening after the grand final, where he also took care of the press work for tournament winner Michael van Gerwen.

In the midst of all this hustle and bustle, Brzezinski even took a few minutes to talk about his involvement in the German Darts Grand Prix in an exclusive interview with Dartsnews.com: "The European Tour stop in Munich is a very special event for us at the PDC Europe because we are based here in Munich. For us, who travel a lot during the year, it's a nice thing not to have to travel so far and to be able to celebrate an event on our own doorstep."

Brzezinski, who has been accompanying the European Tour team for several years now, has special memories of the Bavarian capital: "I immediately have Damon Heta with his 'Scandal in the Sperrbezirk' walk-on in my head - you get the feeling that everything is falling apart here. And Luke Humphries' first European Tour title also sticks in my mind. That was the starting signal, so to speak, for all his successes that followed. Luke himself says that Munich was the place where it all began."

Finally, the Master of Ceremonies and Head of Sports of the PDC Europe gave an exciting insight into his personal working day on the European Tour stage: "I always find out the information about the players in advance. Then I meet with the audio guys here in the hall at around 10 a.m. to go through each walk-on again. This allows us to check our timing so that everything runs smoothly for the show later on. We really do that before every session, and it helps because you always notice little things."

A veteran through and through - but a certain tingling sensation is also part of Brzezinski's routine just before the start of a session: "But that's a good thing, it helps you to concentrate. But it's nowhere near as bad as when I made my first appearance in 2018: I was so nervous then that I couldn't even look at my presentation cards because I was shaking so much."