Analysis: Why Niko Springer and Martin Schindler deserved more in World Grand Prix campaign in unfortunate defeats

The World Grand Prix was over quicker than they would have liked for the German representatives Niko Springer and Martin Schindler. Both had to admit defeat in the first round without winning a set. Together they only managed three legs - a sobering result, but one that does not tell the whole truth.

If you look at the statistics, the performance of the two Germans was anything but disappointing. Martin Schindler played an average of 94.71 points - a new German record in this tournament. He also hit an impressive 58 percent of his darts into the leg. Only Luke Humphries and Niko Springer started their legs more consistently on Monday evening. However, Schindler only hit four darts at doubles, while Krzysztof Ratajski shone with almost perfect efficiency in the end. The Pole hit 50 percent of his starting doubles and converted every chance he was given.

Niko Springer was also able to impress with his statistics. He achieved an average of 91.22 points - the third-best German score in the history of this tournament. Only Ricardo Pietreczko was slightly better last year with 91.73 points, but was also eliminated then. Springer's double-in rate was a strong 61.54%, which was only bettered by world champion Luke Humphries (72.73%). His first-9 average of 107.50 points was particularly impressive - a figure that would be outstanding even without the double-in and is absolutely world class with this format.

But Springer's luck ran out on the doubles to checkout, of all things. Only two out of twelve attempts found their target - clearly not enough. Stephen Bunting, on the other hand, was ice-cold and made the most of almost every opportunity. In the four legs in which Springer had chances, he won two of them. The other two went to the eventual winner, who made the most of every one of his chances. This showed Bunting's complete class when his opponent played a First 9 average of over 107 over eight legs in double-in mode, but only got chances in four legs.

A look at the best averages on Monday evening underlines just how unfortunate the German defeats were: Luke Humphries finished in sixth place with 87.64 points, Gary Anderson ended up in fifth place with 90.06. They were followed by the two Germans: Niko Springer (91.22) in fourth place and Martin Schindler (94.71) in third. The top places went to their opponents - Krzysztof Ratajski (95.94) and Stephen Bunting (97.02).Statistically speaking, it was a bitter evening for Germany - strong play but no results.