“Germans are better at watching darts than playing it” - Michael van Gerwen's scathing assessment of German darts
PDC
Michael van Gerwen may have been sidelined from the Premier League Darts night in Berlin due to a shoulder injury, but that didn’t stop him from stealing the spotlight - this time, not with his darts, but with some pointed remarks about Germany’s lack of elite players.
The sold-out Mercedes-Benz Arena played host to over 12,000 fans, yet German talent was notably absent from the action. And according to Van Gerwen, that’s no coincidence. Never one to shy away from a strong opinion, the Dutchman delivered a stinging assessment of the standard of darts in Germany.
“Germans are better at watching darts than playing it,” Van Gerwen told BILD. “For a country the size of Germany, their players are massively underperforming. How is it that the Netherlands produces far better darters?”
With Martin Schindler currently the highest-ranked German at world number 22, the prospect of a homegrown player making it into the Premier League remains distant. And if you ask Van Gerwen, that won’t be changing any time soon.
He’s not the only one voicing concern. Reigning world champion and current world number one Luke Humphries also weighed in on the topic, echoing the sentiment that the Premier League should remain a meritocracy, not a marketing exercise.
“You can’t put German players in the Premier League if they’re not winning major tournaments,” Humphries said bluntly when asked about the topic.
While there have been calls for broader international representation in the Premier League lineup, both Van Gerwen and Humphries are united in their belief: quality must come before quotas.
For now, it seems the German crowd will have to keep cheering from the stands—because, in the eyes of the sport’s biggest stars, there’s still a long way to go before a German player earns their spot on the Premier League stage.
The Premier League isn’t a meritocracy as it’s not the top 8 players in the rankings, either at the start of the league or now. Dobey currently 9, Price 12. Aside from the top four Sky get picks, thats not meritocracy.
I agree,but there still isn't a good enough German player to be considered. I've said before,scrap the whole thing,its a payday for the top players and gives nothing to anyone else
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