Gabriel Clemens has said a costly bounce-out helped turn his Players Championship 22 quarter-final against Tom Bissell in Wigan, where the German reached the last eight but missed what he felt was a clear semi-final chance.
Clemens led Bissell 4-1 before the match got away from him, with the Englishman eventually taking the key legs and moving through during Rob Cross’ title-winning Players Championship 22 campaign.
The result also sits inside a wider ProTour picture, with Wessel Nijman’s latest title surge underlining how quickly the race for ranking places can shift during busy Players Championship weeks.
The German Giant framed the defeat as more than a routine ProTour frustration. In comments from the Darts auf die 1 podcast, reported by DartsNews, Clemens said the bounce-out affected his rhythm and contributed to him losing the leg.
Clemens Still Edges Towards Ally Pally
The wider picture is still positive. Clemens’ run added valuable money to his ProTour total, with his World Championship qualification position now looking far stronger than it did earlier in the season.
That matters because Players Championship weeks are becoming decisive for players trying to avoid a late-year scramble. Clemens is not yet talking like a man satisfied with simply banking a quarter-final, but the Wigan return showed enough level to keep him firmly in the Ally Pally conversation.
For Bissell, it was another marker against a proven major-stage operator. For Clemens, the irritation came from knowing the chance was there and that one loose moment shifted the match.
