Around The Clock: Schindler stars as Searle implodes

PDC Europe

Written by: Matt Hill

Every Monday evening, Odds Now's resident darts guru Matt Hill is on hand to get you up to speed with all the key stories and betting angles in planet darts in his exclusive column, Around The Clock.

Welcome to the first edition of my new weekly darts column here on Odds Now, designed to help keep you abreast of what’s going on in the world of arrows and hopefully point you in the direction of a few winners in the process.

It’s a great time to be kicking this off given we are about to enter the business end of the darts season. I always think of October, November and December as a kind of darting heaven. There’s basically a big event every couple of weeks from now until Ally Pally, with a healthy dose of Players Championship, Euro Tour and qualifying action to fill the gaps.

October alone sees seven Players Championship (floor) events, one Euro Tour, the World Grand Prix and the European Championship. If I can’t bang in a couple of winners across that feast, it’s time to give the game up.

Anyway, time to round up what's been going on over the last few days and take a little look ahead to the coming week — while there's also a 100/1 PDC World Championship bet I quite like the look of. Read on for that one!

Schindy conquers Switzerland after Searle implosion

Martin Schindler was a slightly surprising winner of the first ever Swiss Darts Trophy on Sunday. 

The Wall’s second Euro Tour title of the season will be best remembered however for the exploits of runner-up Ryan Searle, who squandered no less than seven match darts to lift his first continental title. It was painful viewing, with Heavy Metal 7-4 up in a race to eight before getting severe finishing line jitters.

Losses like that can take a while to get over, so you only hope that Searle can dust himself down quickly. There’s been no doubt that he possesses the quality to win TV titles for several years now but this latest showing will do little to convince sceptics that the 36-year-old has the all-important composure in the biggest of moments to convert such opportunities.

A dominant figure on the floor, Searle has now won Players Championship titles in the last five seasons but has failed to make it beyond the quarter-finals of a major since coming within a leg of winning the 2021 Players Championship Finals at his “local” Minehead.

I am a huge fan of Searle as a bloke and I do think he has it in his locker to overcome this “mental barrier” — though admittedly, I’ve got to give him a wide berth in Majors betting until he does so. 

Sometimes, one win can make the floodgates open though. See Michael Smith, Jonny Clayton, Peter Wright, Luke Humphries etc…so there’s plenty of reason for him to stay positive.

I do feel the upcoming World Grand Prix, where Searle is an opening 28/1 chance with sponsors Boylesports is one of his more likely winning chances due to the double-in, double-out format combined with his ruthless efficiency on D20.

However, as mentioned, I couldn’t be a backer this year after this weekend’s exploits.

Schindler, on the other hand, may be making his way onto some Grand Prix shortlists at 50/1 — and with good reason.

The diminutive German had a kind entry into this weekend’s event, with both Anton Oslund and Stephen Bunting failing to break an average of 90 in his opening contests.

Yet when the heat was on in the final session, Schindler showed his class. Particularly when dismantling the in-form Josh Rock 7-2 with an average north of 102.

That performance, along with his battling qualities in the final, epitomised what I believe to be the main difference in Schindy now he has tasted success — self-belief.

Conquering the mental side of darts is a huge thing at the top level because, let’s be honest, all of these guys have immense natural talent. But how many of them truly believe they can lift titles in the PDC?

Such a mindset is a particularly dangerous beast for someone as well-rounded as Schindler. He ranks inside the PDC’s top 20 players this year for scoring statistics such as first nine average and 180s per leg, but also for things like checkout percentage and first-dart double conversion. 

Such balanced strengths is often what separates the good from the great in this sport and I don’t think Schindler has to find too much more to become a genuine contender for major titles.

What is more, the Grand Prix was a happy hunting ground for him last year, overcoming Raymond van Barneveld and Stephen Bunting en route to the quarter-finals, where he was knocked out by an electric Gerwyn Price.

Though he doesn’t quite make my shortlist (more on that next week), there are worse each-way bets in the field in Leicester.

A feast of floor action upcoming

The PDC Pro Tour serves up a triple-header this week (Credit: PDC)
The PDC Pro Tour serves up a triple-header this week (Credit: PDC)

The Players Championship events just keep on coming at the moment, with a tantalising triple-header this week in Wigan to follow up last week’s pair of one-day shootouts in Leicester.

Gary Anderson and Dave Chisnall both doubled their trophy tally for the Pro Tour season last week, beating Connor Scutt and Chris Dobey in their respective finals. 

Scutt was someone I was delighted to see finally enjoy a deep run, having threatened to do so for a couple of months now. Having backed him 250/1 four places (insert trumpet), there was double reason to be pleased — though I couldn’t help but feel he let a bit of chance slip through his hands in the final.

Anderson, who continues to be the best around off-stage this term, was an overwhelming favourite but averaged under 80 for the first four legs of the showpiece. Scutt had chances to win all four legs but somehow came out of them level, before the Flying Scotsman started to inevitably find his groove. 

Scutt, alongside his fellow Challenge Tour leader Wesley Plaisier, is probably the most talented player without a Tour Card right now but that will surely change come January. We’ll be seeing plenty of him in the coming months due to his secondary tour exploits and he’s someone I’ll be keeping the faith with this week in Wigan despite inevitable price cuts.

Like every PC event, my punts will all be price dependent but there are players I’m particularly keen to get onside if the numbers are right.

One of those is a Euro Tour semi-finalist from the weekend, Callan Rydz, who finally appears to be putting his struggles behind him. 

Since a sensational run to the PDC World Championship quarter-finals in December 2022, 26-year-old Rydz has been unable to kick on as many predicted. 

A combination of struggles on and off the oche have contributed to a dramatic slump which recently saw the Bedlington-born ace slip out of the world’s top 32. Things can start to get pretty grim once that happens, so an upturn in performances was becoming of paramount importance.

Sure enough, Rydz is answering the call. Since the start of July, he has won 21 of his 36 matches across all competitions (a 58% win rate), with many of the losses coming against top-tier players such as Luke Humphries (twice), Ross Smith, James Wade, Ryan Searle, Joe Cullen and Chris Dobey.

Put simply, Rydz is once again beating players he should be beating — and starting to regain that confidence that is so crucial to his free-flowing, rhythmic game.

Having reached a Pro Tour quarter-final and a Euro Tour semi-final in the last week alone, don’t be surprised to see the Geordie in the thick of things again over the next three days. He'll be carrying a few quid of mine, for sure.

Wonderful Wes a Nij-Man to watch

Wessel Nijman has been inspired in recent weeks
Wessel Nijman has been inspired in recent weeks (Credit: Alamy)

A final word for this week’s edition goes to Wessel Nijman, who could quite easily have been leading up this column with a first Euro Tour trophy in his hands.

Every year, there seems to be one new tour card holder that just leaves darts enthusiasts like me purring at their potential — and that has to be Nijman in 2024.

As many readers will know, Nijman has had to slowly rebuild his promising career after a two-year ban for a match-fixing scandal, which he has handled with real maturity and class. I understand some will struggle to forgive such controversies but for my money, any 19-year-old who makes a mistake and takes their punishment is good value for a second crack at things.

Last year, Nijman and a certain Luke Littler were old foes on the PDC Development Tour, with the Dutch youngster often getting the better of their floor battles. While Littler has enjoyed a more rapid and extreme rise to stardom, there’s nothing to suggest Nijman can’t also scale great heights in the coming months and years.

After an unremarkable first few months on the senior circuit, the 24-year-old has really found his groove in recent times. Since August 1st, his 97.29 average in PDC events places him fifth in the world, only bettered by Littler, Humphries, Anderson and Dobey.

The latter of that quartet was on the end of some Nijman brilliance in Switzerland, in one of the games of the weekend. Locked at 5-5, Dobey had throw in the deciding leg and must’ve felt in control when his young opponent could only go off with a 60.

But Nijman is cut from a special cloth and produced 90 seconds of sheer brilliance, hitting back-to-back maximums and an 81 checkout in two darts to stun the world No12 and seal a last 16 spot.

Though he would end up being Waded by the mercurial (and in-form, it should be said) James Wade in his next match, it was yet more evidence that the Dutch starlet’s good run is more than just a purple patch. 

Though he won’t be at the World Grand Prix, events such as the European Championship and Players Championship Finals will give him a chance to make his mark on the big stage once again before a return to Ally Pally.

Last year, his World Championship debut was one to forget, falling to defeat against Steve Beaton in front of a partizan crowd roaring on the Adonis.

This year, however, Nijman is a different beast. Quotes of 100/1 about him “doing a Littler” may just be worth taking a chance on. If anyone’s going to make a deep run at three figures, it’s probably him.

Meet the Author

Matt Hill

Matt has now been operating in the sports content and betting space for the best part of a decade, including extended stints with industry giants Betfred and LiveScore.

A qualified journalist, he began his career reporting on his beloved Carlisle United FC as a teenager and still follows the Blues avidly to this day, as much as life allows.

One of the keenest punters around, Matt is never shy of an opinion and builds the bulk of his betting portfolio around antepost football markets and PDC darts events.

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