Liam Maendl-Lawrance made his debut last weekend during the International Darts Open and will again be seen on stage during a PDC European Tour tournament on Easter weekend.
The player from Munich qualified for the German Darts Grand Prix which will be played in his home town.
Ahead of the event, Maendl-Lawrance spoke to Adrian Geiler and was asked whether he would prefer a beatable name or a big name in the draw, which will take place on Friday.
The 18-year-old replied that a beatable name was already preferable to him. "But anyone up there (on stage) can play brutally good darts," he added.
Maendl-Lawrance knows what he's talking about. He has an explicit, trained darts coach on his side in Peter Seidl. "He does a really good job and it's fun to play with him. He also still plays in the Bundesliga and he really blows me away."
"If there's a mistake in my throwing, he always looks at that. What's changed."
Maendl-Lawrance says Seidl also influences what he plays in preparation for the next tournament.
"And also tips, like with checkouts. It's all very helpful," the young German stressed.
Practice is every day, according to him. "Really practice from Monday to Thursday. Monday is so more like one and a half hours of practice and then it is increased. The highest is 4.5 to 5 hours."
The player from Bavaria works as a bartender in his players' pub and also trains during his working hours by standing at the dartboard with his people.
This explains why Maendl-Lawrance shows such a convincing game, although he has only been playing darts since December 2019. "My normal average is 85 to 92," he said.
He has yet to throw a 9-darter. "But I've had a few 10-darters," he pointed out in conclusion.