"The relief was huge when the match dart went in" - Martin Schindler stars again on the Euro Tour with Austrian Darts Open win

Martin Schindler has captured his third career European Tour title, with an impressive 8-4 victory over former European Championship winner Ross Smith in the final of the 2025 Austrian Darts Open in Graz on Sunday night.

'The Wall' opened his campaign in Graz on Saturday, with a comfortable win over England’s Matthew Dennant. Continuing his strong form into Sunday, Schindler first edged past Kevin Doets 6-5 in the third round, before he then overcame Premier League Darts star Chris Dobey 6-4 in the quarter-finals, and survived a thriller against Josh Rock 7-6 in the semi-finals.

In the final, the 28-year-old German produced a composed performance to ease past Smith, who is left still waiting for a first ever Euro Tour title win.

"I'm so happy, I fought my way through today," reflected the German number one in his post-match interview with the PDC immediately following the final."It may not have been great, but it was good enough in the end."

"The relief was huge when the match dart went in. When the game is over, only then can you let go of the tension and celebrate, that's exactly what I knew," he added. "I didn't want to celebrate too early either, but I won in the end, that's what counts."

The title is already Schindler’s second of 2025, following a title win on the Players Championship circuit earlier this year. As a result, he continues to rise up the darting ranks, now up to 18th place on the PDC Order of Merit — the highest position of his career so far.

The European Tour resumes next weekend with the European Darts Grand Prix in Sindelfingen, Germany. Gary Anderson returns as defending champion, having beaten Ross Smith 8-6 in last year’s final. Schindler is among the seeded players and will be aiming to secure back-to-back European Tour titles.