"I want to say the same as Gary Anderson does: leave that kid alone": Martin Schindler stands up for his compatriot after a painful 5-0 defeat at the Grand Slam of Darts
PDC
Martin Schindler has secured his first victory at the Grand Slam of Darts in convincing fashion. The German defeated his compatriot Jan Schmidt 5–0, thereby taking an important step towards the knockout stage.
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After the match, however, the conversation centred mainly on his remarkable performance at the European Darts Championship, where he reached the final for the first time a few weeks ago. Schindler acknowledged that he has still not fully come to terms with that experience and that the lost final against Ross Smith has left its mark.
Although the scoreline might suggest otherwise, the match against Schmidt did not go entirely smoothly. Schindler needed several match darts to finally secure the victory.
"Obviously, in the end it took me a couple of match darts, but I think there hasn't been enough pressure from Jan in that situation," said Schindler post-match.
"All in all, I think it was an OK game. The scoring was partly there, and it could probably have been a lot easier on the doubles, but honestly, I'll take the 5-0 win."
Like a fever dream for Schindler
Asked about the European Championship final run, it was very much an emotional time for Schindler, and he said that he couldn't get over it at the time, but now that he has had time to digest it, he said that he is on to the next, albeit without any expectation that he will reach the same heights.
"We (him and Polly James) spoke about it at breakfast, and after we finished the tournament, for the last two or three days afterwards, it felt like a fever dream. There was no time to deal with it, so it still felt good, but all in all, I couldn't really get over it, if that makes sense. But right now, it's been a couple more weeks, and I still feel good about it.
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"I'm very happy to be here at the Grand Slam because of it, but I have to say I'm not going into the Grand Slam expecting myself to definitely reach the final like I did before. I will definitely try my best to do so, but I will not put myself under too much pressure now because I've been in the final once."
SCHINDLER DUMPS OUT SCHMIDT! Martin Schindler whitewashes his fellow countryman Jan Schmidt to kick off his Group N campaign! 📺 https://t.co/OFsNJkRNwt #GSOD | Group Stage https://t.co/HwZ3KCxrTn
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) November 15, 2026
Asked if he also spoke with Niko Springer after his previous disappointments, and now he has a mental coach, he said that he hasn't had much time to do so. "Honestly, there hasn't been a lot of time after the Europeans to speak about what happened at the European Championship.
"What we did was try to look more forward. We tried to look into the future, and we tried to... not try. We prepared myself for this Grand Slam. I think I can say it like that. Like I said before, there hasn't been a lot of time to really get over it. I think I'm probably still not really over it, to realise what I've done over there.
"Now we have this tournament, and I'm really looking forward to the Grand Slam. Also, like I said before, I'm really happy to be here because I didn't take qualifying for granted, and it was a nice gift reaching the final at the Europeans."
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After a pretty poor start to the year, Schindler, like the other German stars, would've been thinking about where his future lay and asked if it perhaps came at the right time. Confidently, he said there is something perhaps to take from that and was at a time when perhaps he wasn't expecting it.
"Maybe in a way, yes. Maybe in a way it happened at just the right moment. I think that's the reason why I was probably so much more emotional about it. It happened at a time when I wasn't really expecting it to be like that.
"In the last couple of years, I played as the first and second seed in this tournament. As the first seed, I lost in the first round, and when I was the second seed, I lost in the second round. This time, I was seeded 31st, and I managed to get to the final.
"You know, explain that to anybody in the world. I can't even explain it to myself, but I've fought for every match I played, and I'm really happy that, especially on Sunday, I was just like my real self. I was up there, I was enjoying myself, I could have a laugh, and I just let the darts... Like we say in German, I just stood there and let my darts fly all the time.
"That was what I was doing. I wasn't caring about hitting or not hitting. I was just there, tried my best, and I wanted to win, and I won. That felt so good."
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'Leave that kid alone'
Schmidt was referenced as having to travel from Germany straight to Wolverhampton after the German Super League, and amid the overhyping and perhaps getting ahead of themselves, Schindler told people to not expect too much and to leave him alone and let him develop.
"I think he will learn a lot from the last three or four days, honestly. I don't want to say too much about Jan in terms of how he's doing great or anything. I want to say the same as Gary Anderson does: leave that kid alone.
"I'm nearly 10 years older than him, so I can say that. Leave that young guy alone. He's doing great; he achieved so much this year, and I think he was in a rough spot. Obviously, he was in a very good position to qualify for the World Championship for the very first time at such a young age, and unfortunately for him, he failed.
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"Then he had to go to the Grand Slam, and in one day he needed to move from Hildesheim to Frankfurt, then Frankfurt to Birmingham, then Birmingham to Wolverhampton, and then play against Chris Dobey. So, it was difficult for him, and he did well. Honestly, he did well.
"I've seen it with Max, I've seen it with Gabriel, and I see it with Niko now. Leave the guys from Germany alone. Let them develop. They will find their way."
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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