Darts Germany also has no tournament tree luck
Germany advanced to the last 16 of the World Cup of Darts. After a strong group stage performance, the draw for the knockout round did not go according to plan. Martin Schindler and Gabriel Clemens ended up in the tougher half of the tournament bracket.
On Friday evening, there was no drama in the Darts World Championship in Frankfurt. The German professionals Martin Schindler and Gabriel Clemens won their second group game and secured their place in the last 16. They defeated outsiders Finland 4:1 at home.
Against the Finns, Schindler and Clemens had far fewer problems than in their opening match against New Zealand on Thursday. Although Finland played decently point-wise, they could not match the dominant performance of the German duo. Germany won 4:1, and then waited for their opponent in the next round, which was drawn shortly before midnight.
Unfortunately, luck was not on Schindler and Clemens' side. The duo faces Northern Ireland on Saturday evening, who have also impressed so far. A challenging, but not insurmountable task. With German fans behind them, the Northern Irish are sure to find it difficult to perform as well as they did in the group stage. Schindler and Clemens go into the match as favorites.
German Darts Team plays early due to the Euro 2024
The Germany match begins at 7 pm in the Frankfurter Eissporthalle. The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) deliberately scheduled the match as the first in the evening session to avoid it clashing with the German Euro 2024 football quarter-final. "For every fan, it will be a fantastic evening if the German national team at the Euros and we win here at the World Cup of Darts," Schindler told ntv.de.
The third group match between Germany and Switzerland at the European Tour event in Leverkusen cast a shadow over a bigger tournament for the Darts professionals last time. Finalists Dave Chisnall and Ross Smith even paused the game for a few seconds when Niclas Füllkrug scored the equalizer for Germany, and the Darts spectators cheered loudly.
Difficult draw
Double partner Clemens sees the Darts World Cup quarter-final in the shadow of the Football World Cup as not problematic. "That's really irrelevant. We're here to do our job. Of course, we support Germany, we want to be European champions. But we also want to go far, so we have to focus on ourselves."
Just like the German football team, the German Darts team also had bad luck with the draw. The draw not only presented the challenging quarter-final against Northern Ireland, but would likely pit Germany against top favorites England in the semi-finals, and thus the last two World Champions Luke Humphries and Michael Smith. To make the big title dream come true, a lot needs to come together. The belief in their own strength is just as strong with Martin Schindler and Gabriel Clemens as it is with the German footballers.
Despite their strong performance, Schindler and Clemens face a tough challenge in the World Darts Championships quarter-finals against Northern Ireland, who have impressed in their group stage matches. The duo will have the support of German fans, making it challenging for the Northern Irish to perform as well.
In addition to the quarter-final against Northern Ireland, the German Darts team also faces potential encounters with top favorites England in the semi-finals and two-time World Champions Luke Humphries and Michael Smith, making their path to the title a challenging one.
