Michael Unterbuchner secured a dramatic 6-5 victory over William O'Connor in a deciding leg at the European Darts Grand Prix in Sindelfingen on Friday night, marking just his second career win on the European Tour. The German, roared on by a packed crowd, celebrated emotionally after the match, telling Dartsnews.com, "I know that I can do it. I just hadn't really been able to show it on the European Tour yet. If you look at what I've done on the Challenge Tour or as a ProTour substitute, where I reached a quarter-final... but to do that on stage with the crowd, that's a different feeling. And today I proved that I can do that as well."
Unterbuchner's win was built on a fast start, with finishes of 100, 104, and 120 in the opening legs. He described the start as "very good," adding, "When you know that something like that works, you get confidence. It makes it really enjoyable up there as a player. If I think about it, if I had missed that 100 and he takes it out, then you go into it with a negative feeling. And everyone knows what William O'Connor can play – he was putting me under pressure every time." Despite his experience, Unterbuchner admitted the European Tour stage presents a unique challenge, saying, "It's almost like a tapeworm, to be honest. You go up there with mixed feelings because you don't know what's going to come out. Of course you always want to show what you can do and you're up for it, but it can turn very quickly and go completely negative."
Next up for Unterbuchner is a second-round meeting with Michael van Gerwen. When asked about the clash, he laughed, "Against who?" before noting, "We've played each other before on the ProTour." He expressed clear relish for the challenge, stating, "I want to see how it's really done. I'm looking forward to it, I'm up for it." Away from the stage, Unterbuchner reflected on narrowly missing out on a Tour Card at Q-School earlier this year, explaining, "It was in the head. I became a father and it wasn't clear when the baby was coming, so my head wasn't fully on it. Otherwise I would have done it, I'm 100 percent sure." His focus now is on maintaining rhythm, with plans to play the remaining Challenge Tour weekends, a couple of Host Nation Qualifiers, and as much steel-tip as possible wherever he can to stay in that rhythm.
