The end of an era: Hildesheim gets the perfect farewell to the European Tour with a nine-darter, a 117 average, and a historic atmosphere.

It is no exaggeration to speak of the end of an era. For over 12 years, Halle 39 in the Hildesheim industrial estate was a fixture on the PDC European Tour. In mid-September, the association announced the tour calendar for the coming year - and made the end of the German Darts Championship official. This made it clear that the 14th event of the season would be the last chapter in Hildesheim's storied European Tour history for the time being. And the German Darts Championship was to bid farewell to the big stage with a bang.

If you don't know where to start with the stories, that's usually a good sign. Dirk van Duijvenbode's 9-darter, one of the highest averages in European Tour history or the crowning glory of one of the most successful European Tour seasons in PDC history - the choice is huge. So, in this article, we take a look back at the best stories of the weekend - and say goodbye to an absolute cult venue.

The Hildesheim fans were once again treated to a weekend full of world-class darts. Dirk van Duijvenbode kicked things off on Friday. The Dutchman, who is now officially called to the stage as "Aubergenius" by Master of Ceremonies Philip Brzezinski, had a stroke of genius in store in his first- round duel with Karel Sedlacek: In a thrilling match, van Duijvenbode opened the fourth leg with two 180 scores. Hitting triple 17, triple 18 and finally double 18, the 33-year-old completed his first 9-darter on a PDC stage.

But the "Aubergenius" hadn't had enough: he followed up his perfect leg on Friday evening with one of the best performances in European Tour history on Saturday evening. In the duel against Chris Dobey, the Dutchman boasted an incredible average of 117.74 points. Only Dave Chisnall (118.66) in 2018 and Michael van Gerwen (117.94) in 2015 were able to achieve a higher average in the history of the tournament series - also in Halle 39 in Hildesheim.

The weekend also had a highlight in store for Germany: When Martin Schindler started the tournament on Saturday evening, the German fans were initially in for a bitter disappointment. After five legs, The Wall was already trailing 1-4. With the help of the crowd, however, the 29-year-old fought his way back: Schindler secured a 6-4 win with five leg wins in a row - and sent the fans in Hildesheim into ecstasy. We followed the match live from the arena and summarised the most important scenes of the emotional comeback in the video below:

And yet the title of player of the weekend - or rather of the season - goes to "The Asp" Nathan Aspinall. With incredible consistency at world-class level, the Englishman played his way into the final session in Lower Saxony. With a 103.78 average, he defeated the German Maximilian Czerwinski in round one before knocking out Ross Smith (107.53) and Steve Lennon (110.77).

After quarter-final and semi-final victories over Jermaine Wattimena and Gian van Veen, Aspinall met van Duijvenbode in the final - and took his third European Tour crown of the season. "The Asp" thus joins an elite club: Only Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Luke Humphries and Dave Chisnall have previously won three European Tour events in one season. Aspinall also secured first place in the European Tour Order of Merit and will start the European Championship in Dortmund as the number one seed.

One thing became clear this weekend: the German Darts Championship will be sorely missed next year - and not just by the fans in Hildesheim. In an exclusive interview with Dartsnews.de, Peter Wright spoke about the emotional significance the tournament has for him: "It's always special to come back here," said the 55-year-old. "Hildesheim is a special place for me anyway. I have a lot of memories here - good games, great fans, a great atmosphere. This tournament is simply close to my heart."

"This morning I looked at my cell phone and saw a reminder from Google Photos: 'Nine years ago today' - and it was pictures from Hildesheim. I just thought: Wow, nine years! It's amazing how long we've been doing this. Hildesheim is a wonderful city," added the two-time German Darts Champion.

A sentiment that was unsurprisingly also reflected in the conversation with local fans: "I absolutely cannot understand the decision to no longer hold the German Darts Championship in 2026. You only have to experience the atmosphere to realize what this event means to the people here. That also applies to the players: I can still remember Peter Wright bursting into tears after winning the title last year," said Dennis Morczinietz from Goslar, expressing his disappointment.

A group of fans from Salzgitter and Wolfenbüttel were unhappy about the alternatives: "Maybe we'll watch the gala, but of course there's no competition. Otherwise, Göttingen would be the only other option, but that's only possible with an overnight stay in a hotel," said Oliver Umbach, Marcel Hauer, Sven Bialetzki and Beule Schwarze. Tim Meith and Louis Trollmann from Hanover looked back on their best Hildesheim memory with a tear in their eye: "That was of course Ricardo Pietreczko's title win in 2023. We've regularly attended the German Darts Championship in Hildesheim in recent years - so it's all the more disappointing that we won't be able to come back next year."

The German Darts Championship could not have had a better farewell to Hildesheim: Top-class sport, an emotional atmosphere and the third match of the best European Tour player of the season. And yet it was clear that it was a farewell that most people could have done without. Players, fans, officials - everyone made it clear how much this cult event is close to their hearts. Now this extremely successful chapter in European Tour history is coming to an end after twelve years full of spectacle, drama and partying - but who knows: maybe one day the colourful European Tour circus will march through the gates of Hildesheim's Halle 39 again.