Ryan Searle admits he ‘bottled’ PDC European Tour final
30/09/2024 By Aaron Nijjar
Ryan Searle admitted post-match in his maiden PDC European Tour final match that he “bottled”, consequently giving the win to opponent Martin Schindler.
The PDC European Tour expanded to new territory with the first-ever event hosted in Basel, Switzerland.
Searle and Schindler fought through the 48-man field to make the final to try and become the inaugural winner of the Swiss Darts Trophy.
Searle raced into a 4-0 lead and hit a 124 checkout before Schindler got off the mark. The German star formulated a 142 checkout of his own to claim a second leg.
Searle was 6-2 and 7-4 up and it appeared he was on his way to winning his first European Tour title.
Searle missed match darts in two separate legs, allowing Schindler back into the contest to take victory in a last-leg decider.
“It’s just one of those things, I bottled it a bit,” admitted Searle to PDCTV in the post-match interviews.
“That’s the way darts goes sometimes; for me it’s a case of onto the next one.
“I’ve been in this position before where I’ve thrown games away and I’ve come back stronger, so I’ll be looking to respond in the same way again.”
Once again, darts show how fine margins make all the difference, with Searle on multiple occasions inches away from becoming £18,000 richer and entering the European Tour winners enclosure.
Schindler made history as he doubles his European Tour event winning tally to two, becoming the first German player to achieve this feat. As a result, he rises to 22nd on the PDC Order of Merit.
“I’m so happy to win this title,” said Schindler.
“I always believed that I have the ability to come back but I was lucky to win this one.
“Ryan was the better player but that’s darts sometimes.
“Ten years ago I was working as a steward on these events; I’ve worked very hard to get to where I am today and I’m proud of myself.
“I fancy myself to do well in the big TV events coming up, but today is just about winning this trophy; that’s all that matters to me now.”
Image by Taylor Lanning.
