Gabriel Clemens finally ended his long wait for a European Tour victory on Friday night, beating Cameron Menzies 6-4 at the 2026 Flanders Darts Trophy to claim his first win on the circuit since October last year.
Menzies led three times during the opening five legs and produced a 121 checkout on the bull to move 2-1 ahead, while Clemens took time to settle after admitting afterwards that his lack of regular European Tour stage appearances had been noticeable early on. "The start was not good, but it's my first or second game this year on the European Tour stage," Clemens said. "It's not easy, and you could see that in the first legs. It wasn't so easy."
Clemens gradually found more rhythm as the match went on. He levelled at 3-3 before breaking after Menzies missed the bull for a 170 checkout, then moved 5-3 ahead. Three match darts went begging in the ninth leg, but the German responded by opening the next with a 180 before completing a 13-darter on double 16. "But at the end of the game my scoring was good and, yeah, I got over the line," he added.
Clemens has had far fewer appearances on European Tour stages this season, and he made no attempt to hide the effect that has had. Asked whether the lack of regular matches had made it harder to find his stage rhythm, he replied simply: "Yeah, of course. Next year I definitely have to play more European Tours." That admission gave extra context to a performance which improved noticeably as the match developed. Clemens struggled to impose himself early, but his scoring strengthened late on and the final 13-darter was his best response to the pressure of having just missed chances to close the match. The 43-year-old also made clear how much he had missed playing in front of a European Tour crowd. When asked whether he had missed the stage or the post-match interviews more, there was no hesitation. "Playing on a stage."
Clemens' reward is a second-round meeting with top seed Gian van Veen, and he knows Friday's level will not be enough if he is to extend his run in Antwerp. "Gian van Veen is a fantastic player and, yeah, I have to play better than today," Clemens said. "I hope I can do this and then we have a good game." The win over Menzies nevertheless gives Clemens something he had been missing for almost a year on the European Tour: a victory on stage and another match the following day. He now gets the chance to build on that against Van Veen rather than beginning another wait for his next European Tour opportunity.
