They like a good night out: German darts fans find a mostly friendly rivalry at Alexandra Palace
Around a quarter of tickets for the 2025 World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace were sold to German visitors, with some sessions reaching about a third. Germany has become the fastest-growing darts market, according to the German Olympic Sports Confederation, with the 2025 final drawing roughly 3 million German viewers, a number comparable to the UK audience.
The expansion of darts in Germany includes the European Tour starting in 2012, the World Cup of Darts moving to Hamburg and then Frankfurt, and Berlin joining the Premier League in 2018. Currently, Germany hosts seven of the 14 Euro Tour events. Despite strong grassroots growth, Germany has yet to consistently produce a world-class player; notable performances include Gabriel Clemens reaching the 2023 World Championship semi-finals, while players such as Pietreczko, Springer, and Schindler have achieved success on the Euro Tour but have limited results on the biggest stages.
English crowds have a history of booing German players, and German players have also faced hostile receptions at German venues, including an incident with the German crowd that affected Luke Littler’s participation. Observers describe German fans as similar to British crowds—interested in both sport and a good night out—though the rivalry between nations can feel performative and theatrical.
This influx of German fans and the growth of the sport in Germany is framed as a long-term, incremental investment by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) culture, turning darts into a social phenomenon in pubs and clubs and expanding Germany’s role in the sport.
