"I got so annoyed about it that I lost the leg because of it as well" – Gabriel Clemens latest player to lament dart boards after Players Championship 22

Gabriel Clemens produced a strong result at Players Championship 22 in Wigan. The Saarlander reached the quarterfinals and collected valuable prize money in the race to qualify for the PDC World Darts Championship. However, the “German Giant” was not entirely satisfied afterwards.

On the podcast “Darts auf die 1”, Clemens spoke with Robert Marijanovic and Marcel Althaus about his tournament run. It quickly became clear that the German was mainly looking back at the missed opportunity in the quarterfinal.

"Yeah, it was okay, but I definitely should have won that quarter-final," Clemens admitted candidly.

The defeat to Tom Bissell stung in particular because the match initially seemed to be clearly going the German’s way. Bissell struggled to get into the game and had major problems finding his rhythm early on.

Clemens led 4-1 at one stage and had the encounter largely under control. But the game increasingly swung the other way.

From his perspective, a decisive moment was a bouncer at a key stage of the match. "Then I had a bounce-out that you really don't need," Clemens recalled. Instead of a possible 140 visit, he lost his rhythm and let the situation affect him too much.

"I got so annoyed about it that I lost the leg because of it as well," the German admitted self-critically. It was especially bitter for Clemens that he squandered several chances at the end while Bissell grew stronger. The Englishman took his chances clinically and impressed particularly on the doubles.

Despite the disappointment, Clemens also had words of praise for his opponent. Bissell showcased his quality impressively as the match wore on.

"He hit his doubles really well," said Clemens. The Englishman checked multiple times with the last dart in hand and stayed calm in the key moments.

The German was ultimately not surprised by his opponent’s display. Bissell had already enjoyed a strong day and, among others, knocked Johnny Clayton out of the tournament. “He can definitely play,” Clemens added with a grin.

The podcast hosts also pointed out that Bissell has made several deep runs this season and sits high in the Pro Tour Order of Merit. All the more, Clemens was left with the feeling that he had let a big chance slip.

That is exactly why the German’s overall verdict was somewhat mixed. On the one hand, a quarterfinal was a strong result. On the other, Clemens looked back on a run that, in his view, could have yielded even more.

"The tournament was really good. Especially the match against Micky Mansell was a very good performance from me," explained the Saarlander. In that 6-1 win over the Irishman, he averaged over 102.

Precisely for that reason, the frustration over the missed opportunity lingered a bit afterwards. "A semi-final was definitely there for the taking, maybe even a final," said Clemens.

At the same time, the German made it clear that you can never plan long-term on the Pro Tour. Often a tournament is decided in the first match of the day.

"The important thing is always to win the first match. After that, the tension is gone and things tend to go relatively well," he explained. After that, it often comes down to fine margins and the form of the day in those 20 minutes of a match.

The podcast also discussed the current PDC boards. Even before the tournament, several German players experienced many bouncers during warm-up.

Clemens reported that before the event he played cricket with Martin Schindler, Marvin Kraft, and Lukas Wenig. An unusually high number of darts fell out of the board."Out of ten darts thrown at the bullseye, about eight ended up on the floor," said the Saarlander, underscoring the debate about board quality.

After Gary Anderson had already publicly complained about board quality at the World Cup of Darts, Martin Schindler also caused a stir. After his elimination, the German posted an image on social media showing a PDC board landing in his trash bin.

Beyond the strong result in Leicester, the development in the World Championship race should be particularly pleasing for Clemens. Robert Marijanovic, himself a three-time World Championship participant at Ally Pally, is sure that around £30,000 to £32,000 will likely be needed this year to qualify via the Pro Tour.

After two-thirds of the Pro Tour season, Gabriel Clemens has earned £30,000 via the Pro Tour, with the current cut-off at £20,000. While numerous players will have to fight for every pound in the coming months, the German’s participation at the World Darts Championship now appears a mere formality.

The Saarlander himself did not want to rest on that. There are still several tournaments on the schedule, and Clemens believes he is capable of delivering significantly bigger results.

His performance at Players Championship 22 certainly offered some pointers. Even though disappointment over the lost quarterfinal ultimately prevailed, the run showed that the “German Giant” still has the level to regularly contend for the late stages on the Pro Tour.