Three days off school for the World Cup: Fabian Schmutzler’s crazy darts sprint

Friday 17th December 2021

Three days off school for the World Cup
Fabian Schmutzler’s crazy darts sprint

From Kevin Schulte

Three years ago his parents gave him a dartboard for Christmas, and on Thursday evening Fabian Schmutzler will play at the World Cup in London. The 3-0 defeat of the 16-year-old German doesn’t diminish his fairytale rise in any way.

Almost 9,000 euros in prize money, countless fan hearts won, a walk-on in sprint mode, three days off school for the Darts World Cup in London. That is the impressive record of the 16-year-old German Fabian Schmutzler, the second youngest Darts World Cup participant of all time, after his adventure in “Ally Pally” – the clear 3-0 defeat against the established professional player Ryan Meikle diminishes Schmutzler’s darts fairy tale not a bit.

It is shortly before eight thirty local time when “Fabulous Fab” enters the largest stage of darts in London’s Alexandra Palace on Thursday. Schmutzler hastily rushed past his parents and a number of darts fans. While the superstars celebrate their walk-ons, sometimes for minutes, Schmutzler sprints to the dartboard.

That fits the 16-year-old huge talent from Frankfurt am Main. His darts career has been a single sprint so far. From zero to a hundred in less than three years. His parents gave him an e-dartboard for Christmas 2018. And hit the mark. Schmutzler has talent, a short time later swaps the electronic dartboard for a steel dart board and joins a club.

“Almost started crying”

He learns a lot. He learns quickly. And uses the corona pandemic to take part in online darts events, where he can suddenly keep up with established German top players. The next milestone will follow on October 19, when Schmutzler celebrates his 16th birthday, which is equivalent to the nominal entitlement to participate in tournaments of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). 16 is the minimum age for participation in the PDC junior events.

From November 5th to 7th, the man from Frankfurt will take advantage of the new freedoms and take part in the second phase of the junior tournament series. Fittingly, it takes place in his Hessian neighborhood. And the local hero causes astonishment among fans, experts and opponents. Schmutzler moves into the final at three of the six events over the weekend, with two titles jumping out at the end. In the final ranking, this means second place behind the 20-year-old Austrian Rusty-Jake Rodriguez. Although Schmutzler was only able to take part in one of the two tournament weekends because of his late birth.

What Schmutzler cannot realize at first: Second place is enough for the young talent to qualify for the Darts World Championship, as the first place winner had already secured the starting place via another qualifying route. “That was unbelievable, I almost started crying,” said Schmutzler in the “Checkout” podcast after his sensational triumph.

Schmutzler wants to become a teacher

From dartboard to Darts World Cup participant in less than three years: Fabian Schmutzler made it when he took the stage on the second day of the biggest darts event. His first dart ends up in the “Triple Twenty” in proper style. When thrown on the game-winning double fields, it doesn’t really work out during the entire match – his English opponent Ryan Meikle wins the game confidently with 3-0 – but Schmutzler has already won the hearts of German darts fans.

The internet is full of expressions of sympathy for “Faboulous Fab”. Spectators praise his coolness in front of thousands of beefy fans in the “Ally Pally”, celebrating him as the “winner of the heart”. After the match, Schmutzler himself said in a TV interview on “DAZN” that he “would not exchange the experience for anything” that he “has experienced so far”.

But a career as a professional darts player remains “only” plan B. After his “Ally-Pally” adventure including three days off from school, the focus of the ardent Eintracht Frankfurt fan is now back on everyday school life. A student dirtler wants to become a teacher of Latin and chemistry after graduating from high school. That fits in with one of the most atypical Darts World Cup participants, who in the German scene, in a respectful way, is sometimes referred to as the “oldest 16-year-old in the world”.

What else was going on at “Ally Pally”?

In the hyped ex-world champion duel between the two-time champion Gary Anderson and the former double world champion Adrian Lewis, Anderson surprisingly won 3: 1. Although Lewis had won the first set 3-2, the “Flying Scotsman” subsequently dictated the game at will. Anderson won nine of the next ten legs and showed a combative and uncompromising performance.

The number six in the world can hope for a tournament similar to that of the last World Cup. At that time, the 50-year-old Scot was only stopped in the final by Gerwyn Price. “I don’t have high hopes, but neither did I last year,” said Anderson, dryly as usual, after his opening win. It was the third duel between Anderson and Lewis on the World Cup stage. In 2011 Lewis won the World Cup final, in 2016 Anderson won the title in the final. Maybe a good omen for “Ando”, even if once again he is expecting nothing.

Just like Anderson, another seeded actor, Daryl Gurney, already moved in in round three. “Superchin” defeated the lightning-fast thrower Ricky Evans 3: 1 and, after the success, performed his walk-on song “Sweet Caroline” together with the fans.

The most dramatic game of the second day of the tournament was played by Irishman William O’Connor and Danny Lauby from the USA. With a score of 2: 1 in the sets and 2: 0 in the legs, O’Connor already looked like the sovereign winner, but Lauby almost turned the game around, even earning a match dart in the decisive leg of the decisive set. However, because the arrow did not land in the double 18 field, O’Connor could take a deep breath and move into the second round.

How are you today?

After Schmutzler, the youngest World Cup participant, Paul Lim, the oldest qualifier, will intervene in the tournament this Friday evening. The 67-year-old darts legend from Singapore can have legitimate hopes for a place in round two against the Englishman Joe Murnan. A matter of form should be a first victory for Peter Wright. At the end of the evening, the ex-world champion will play against Ryan Meikle, the conqueror of the “oldest 16-year-old in the world”.