ANALYSIS: The average is not important - How Gabriel Clemens is rebuilding from his own success

In 2018, Gabriel Clemens was working as a locksmith in the historic town of Saarlouis, Germany. In 2023, Gabriel Clemens was competing as a darts player at Alexandra Palace in England. World Number 19 and the highest-ranked German in the PDC.

Eventually losing to Michael Smith, Clemens had a historic run that defined his career. A commercial aftermath followed, with interviews, media appearances and bookings coming from every angle, distracting Clemens from what had been a successful 2022 built from strong floor form.

2023 didn’t quite continue like this, with two Players Championships semi-finals and a middling 56% win percentage not putting him in any position to break into the top 16. Yet, £316,500 earned beats anything he had done.

Reflecting, Clemens states 2023 as “I play not good in 2023, that’s it. Yeah, I have one good tournament in 2023”. Brutal. Beating himself up after being in the last 4 of the biggest darts tournament can be argued as too harsh, but the stats show 2023 was no better than the past years. 94.03 average, the 25th best on tour, doesn’t quite translate to 19th place, and the majors show that.

Not a single win in the majors until the Players Championship 2023. Was there excessive conformity due to the paycheck of £100,000 following January? “On the majors, I play really badly… but yeah, then I come to the Players Championship Finals and come to the semi-finals, that’s good for the head”, Clemens admitted to Online Darts, showing that the floor gave him back what the majors had taken away. Losing to Michael Van Gerwen in the semi-finals, Clemens found himself in the last 4 again, beating Josh Rock and Luke Woodhouse on the way to make German darts history.

Clemens was building history on the back of poor performances, and momentum could be the only answer. Winning on the stage in 2023 then led to a last-4 finish. He explained that once you win one match, “you have confidence”, he told Online Darts. Clemens seems to be built on confidence, as the German Giant’s large finishes and power scoring, in the form of 325 180s across the 2023 season, demonstrate this ability to roll past players. Personified in the 5-1 demolition of Gerwyn Price in the 2023 World Championships, Clemens' confidence puts him in the elite.

What’s interesting about Clemens is that the reasoning behind poor results is more transparent than for most players. He was far from a nobody in Germany before the Worlds, but a semi-final on the biggest stage is bound to make any player busy. “I think the first months I have a lot of bookings and interviews and things, not in practice as much as I normally practice. That’s my fault,” he told Online Darts at the end of 2023; managing the diary was a clear weak point, and it showed in the majors.

The decline now has a specific reason for the next two years. Commercial success disrupted the practice routine that had produced the sporting achievement that warranted the commercial attention in the first place. His practice never returned, and neither did the 42-year-old in the elite of darts.

2023, 19th. 2024, 22nd. 2025, 50th. The downfall is linear with years, and that’s why Clemens couldn’t fight back. Momentum was lost and couldn’t be fought back with a string of poor results. What's most shocking is the fall from 2024 to 2025: 28 places, and the averages show this. 93.95 in 2024 to 91.69 in 2025 presents the greatest stat differentiation.

All confidence fell once the £100,000 cushion was removed, but this only explains the surface-level decline. Behind the surface is a fall that goes beyond what the ranking numbers alone suggest. Clemens is built from momentum, and a first 9 average of 100.40 wouldn’t move any player he once competed with. Compared to 2023, the first nine average is 103.20, and this 2.80 difference is the key stat that explains his confidence.

He’s far from a clinical finisher, so if he’s arriving at doubles from a worse position, he is going to be put into a worse position. This will compound his whole game to become harder from the first dart, creating a chain reaction that makes a 2.80 drop feel bigger than it is on paper.

This was seen in his tour performances. Over 2024 and 2025, 22 last 128 exits and 16 last 64 exits in Players Championships events. Given these were the springboard for the success of 2022, and then into 2023, the contrast is stark and bleak. 38 occasions where Clemens couldn’t reach the last 32, almost 60%.

Without the rhythm or confidence against players who are ranked lower than any player he could go against in majors, this was just a repeated message that his level had dropped. Match sharpness dropped as the floor stopped rewarding him, and he stopped preparing. Majors arrived, and Clemens never did. Ranking money wasn’t going onto his Order of Merit, and a considerable amount was falling off. His average is even worse than his 2025 PDC Order of Merit; 91.69 was the 55th best in 2025. The fall was damaging enough to make the rebuild the hardest challenge of his career to date.

As Clemens fell, Schindler rose, and the dynamic of German darts changed. Following the 2024 World Matchplay, Schindler rose to World Number 23, pushing Clemens down to World Number 24. Since then, Schindler has been Germany’s flag-raiser and a clear number one following his 3 European Tour titles. Schindler's rise over Clemens was inevitable as a result of his great form, meaning the German Giant was just another player in the way of securing his top 16 place.

However, Clemens falling behind Pietreczko wasn’t a result of Pikachu’s greatness, but a direct consequence of Clemens dwindling form. Now, Clemens sits at World Number 47, with Pietreczko at World Number 35, despite having dartitis and complications in his throw. If anything would spell out momentum, it would be going into the World Cup of Darts representing your country, and Clemens has this opportunity next year. Pietreczko has a 2026 average of 86.41, and despite the 2026 World Cup of Darts suggesting his throw may be back, dartitis is never one fix, and it will take months for Pietrzszko to become competitive.

Clemens is beating Pietreczko in every measurable metric: higher average, win percentage, number of 180s and even a higher checkout percentage. What’s key, Clemens’ 2026 earnings are currently £16,000 higher than Pietreczko ’s, meaning a ranking jump is now a tangible outcome that is possible.

Clemens must put himself in a position to reclaim the German number 2 spot, and his form is helping. 3 Players Championships quarter-finals in 2026 have put him in a better position than the last two years found himself in. Pietrzuszko, on the other hand, has currently just hit 66 maximums in 2026, and with a checkout percentage of 34.67%, Clemens should fancy himself.

The German Giant hasn't finished yet. At forty-two, with the number two spot in German darts genuinely within reach, Clemens has found a reason to push again, and Pietreczko's struggles have handed him the door.

Gabriel Clemens hasn’t instantly got better in 2026. There’s been no overnight success, but rather graft and grinding results that have granted a better position. At the Alexandra Palace, Clemens reached the third round, losing to World Number 2 Luke Humphries, producing great darts along the way.

Although Spellman proved an easy test, only requiring a 90.93 average to dismantle the American, with a disappointing Nijman requiring a lesser 89.86 average. 2-4 loss against Humphries would suggest a poor display, but a 101.49 average proves the opposite. Clemens was finally competitive against the best in the world, at their best. He was no longer being outclassed, and Humphries was just better on the day.

The German’s win percentage has recovered from 49% to 52%, which is the first sign of an increase since 2023. Following this, three quarter-finals in 2026 in Players Championship 1, 16 and 22 show prolonged quality spread out. What’s most encouraging is the players he’s beating: Damon Heta during the Players Championship 1 and 16 quarter-final runs, as well as wins over Woodhouse and Beau Greaves presents that he can beat players statistically playing better than him.

This means that the average drop of 0.26 from 2025 into 2026 is irrelevant, as long as he gives himself the opportunities to win; Clemens is taking them. Speaking to DartsNews, Clemens said “I focus on my game and I'm always there when I have a chance. And I put it, the doubles when I have the chance, and that's it.", describing in the simplest way how he has been winning his games.

He doesn’t need to be great, but using his 8 years of tour experience to take the chances has been sufficient, and now, it proves to be thriving. What’s the limit? In the same interview after the World Championship win over Wessel Nijman, Clemens said, “Definately after this year for me it’s amazing to be in the worlds in the third round”, showing how dire 2025 was as a last 32 was “amazing”.

His floor form had dropped so much that a 90 average in the first two rounds feels like progression. Therefore, it’s no wonder that this new mentality of winning despite the average has given him the confidence, as despite how he’s playing, he knows he has a chance against players ranked around him. Averages may not matter to the same extent to other players as it does to Clemens, but when Clemens needs another gear, as an elite 108.18 average against Razma demonstrated, he can find it.

“The average is not important. It’s always the win”. This mentality has been enough for Clemens, but there are clear reasons why that mentality alone won't be enough to close the gap to the top forty. A player's average gives them greater opportunities for finishes, meaning it builds the win. They aren’t separate entities, meaning having the 62nd best average means that climbing anywhere near the top 40 won’t come if changes don’t happen. Three Quarter-finals are good, but the qualification landscape for Clemen’s majors wouldn’t fill any player with optimism.

Outside the World Matchplay by nearly £40,000 and the Grand Prix by over £27,000, and currently 109th in the European Championships, qualification means he won’t be on major stages any time before November. Yet, Clemens' own quote acknowledges where he sits. He knows where his game is at, and he knows that without producing a statistical output that warrants qualification, he gives himself a hard task to climb the rankings. He is now relying on a strong Players Championship and World Championships for major ranking endeavours. However, this isn’t a bad thing for Clemens.

The German Giant performs best at the Players Championships finals and World Championships. Currently, he isn’t back, just carving out a more meaningful position to be in. With a 101.49 average last year and two semi-finals in these stages means that the next gear Clemens can find often comes out in these majors. The comeback is far from complete, but there are clear signs that the German can play his best stuff: he never posted a 19th-best average when he was World Number 19. He never had the 19th-best checkouts or the 180 rate in the first 9. What he did have was experience and timing.

At 42, with years growing, there is a genuine case that experience becomes Clemens' greatest asset in the years ahead. Minehead and Alexandra Palace will define this. 2023 tournament has a rich German history built on the back of his success and no one else's. Under all pressure, all encouraging signs now and between November is preparation, training, and groundwork for these two majors. As it sits, two last 16 results would pay out £75,000 on his ranking, provisionally putting him back into the world's top 40. This is the goal; whether this can be done will be proved through his preparation and execution