''What kind of amateurish mess is this'' - Martijn Kleermaker scathing about playing venue for World Championship qualifying tournament

Last Saturday the Western European qualifying tournament for the PDC World Darts Championship was held in Kalkar, Germany. There, Stefan Bellmont made history by becoming the first Swiss to ever qualify for Ally Pally. However, conditions at the German venue were cause for concern.

Former Tour Card holder Martijn Kleermaker was one of the more than hundred participants in Kalkar. However, it was not a pleasant experience at all for the 33-year-old Dutchman, who lost 6-5 to Berry van Peer in the last 16. "The conditions in Kalkar were outrageous," Kleermaker explained toViaplay.

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"Darters sometimes complain about the wind, but here blowers were on all the time to get some heat in the room. You could see the cloths hanging in the hall flying from one side to the other," he recalls. "However, it bothered me so much during the warm-up that my darts were flying the other way all the time. Therefore, I asked the tournament management to turn off those blowers during my match. They did indeed turn off, but then you felt like you were playing in Alaska, so terribly cold was it in the hall."

Martijn Kleermaker in action

"Also present were Co Stompé and Marcel Walpen,'" Kleermaker continued. "Who even went to play a match with his coat on and a hat on his head."

As if that wasn't enough, another remarkable incident played out during the final. "Until 5-5 those blowers had been on all the time, making a great noise. But then suddenly someone decided to turn them off only to turn them on again just before the final leg. Meanwhile in the hall they were cleaning everything up, I really thought to myself 'what an amateurish mess this is'."

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