Florian Hempel wins darts relegation battle after horror start

Darts Germany is delighted with a top start to the World Championship. Florian Hempel defeats Dylan Slevin, draws hope in the fight to stay in the championship and wins a duel with an explosive history.

Whenever Florian Hempel appears at the World Darts Championship, the 33-year-old always wins at least his first match. This is the case this time too, for the third year in a row. After the start of the match with Irish World Championship newcomer Dylan Slevin, however, this was not to be expected. Hempel suffered an unbelievable double debacle in the third leg. The "Kölsche Jung" missed seven chances when throwing on the game-deciding eight millimeter narrow fields. Slevin took advantage of the German's lapse and took the first set 3:1.

"After the first set, I thought, what kind of evening is this going to be," Hempel revealed in an interview with Sport1 after the match. "But then I fought my way into the match. I had to survive an important moment." In fact, there were four moments that Hempel survived in the decisive phase of set number two: Dylan Slevin was again the first player to get the chance to double, but missed in four attempts. Hempel survived the situation and, in view of the horror start, could count himself lucky with the score at 1:1.

Chance of staying in the league preserved

The third round also went to a deciding leg. This time, too, it looked as if Slevin could secure the set. But because Hempel checked out 85 points on double 9 at lightning speed, Slevin was suddenly behind. The Irishman never recovered from this blow, Hempel played his World Championship experience to the full and left nothing to be desired in the fourth set.

"The double 9 in the third set was particularly decisive. Of course I'm happy that I can still be here," said Hempel, who keeps his chance of retaining his so-called tour card with this victory. This is the right to play on the professional tour. Only the top 64 in the world rankings at the end of the World Championships are guaranteed a starting place next year, the others have to endure a qualification marathon. Thanks to the win, Hempel is now ranked 64th and has hope in the darts relegation battle. The first step on the way to securing relegation has been taken.

Special reunion in the second round

Hempel will now spend the time off until his second round match against Dimitri Van den Bergh at home in Cologne. "If we only look at the World Championships, then I think I'm looking forward to the game more than Dimi," said Hempel, commenting on his next appearance, and he is probably right in his assessment. Exactly two years ago, Van den Bergh was already shipwrecked in a second round match at the World Championships against Hempel, who was a clear outsider. The then number five lost 3-1 to the German newcomer.

Since then, Van den Bergh has at least not gotten any better, apart from reaching the semi-finals at the last World Championships. "Dimi is a former Premier League player and match play champion. If the boy has prepared well, it will be a hot dance for me. I'll have to put a few more good darts on it," says Hempel, aware of his role as underdog despite his special history.

Darts queen Sherrock out despite a great start

By contrast, the most famous player in the world was eliminated on Sunday evening. Fallon Sherrock, the "Queen of the Palace", lost to Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena 1:3 in sets. On her debut four years ago, Sherrock was the first woman in the history of the World Championships to beat two men. Since then, however, the Englishwoman has been winless in the Eldorado of darts. And this despite the fact that she got off to a great start against Wattimena, winning the first set 3:2 to the cheers of the 3,000 or so darts fans.

Fallon Sherrock lost 3:1 to Jermaine Wattimena.

But then "Machine Gun" Wattimena hit back. The 35-year-old clearly won the second and third sets. With his back to the wall, Sherrock was able to shift up a gear again, but missed the doubles at the decisive moment in the fourth set. Wattimena did better, ultimately advancing to the second round of the World Championships with a 3-1 set win, where he will face the German number two, Martin Schindler, also on Friday evening. "I had good phases, but I missed opportunities in the decisive moments and that cost me the win. Big praise to Jermaine, who punished me for the missed chances," Sherrock concluded.

Top favorite goes on without a hitch

Many missed opportunities on the doubles were also Lee Evans' undoing. The Englishman - formerly his opponent's doubles partner - should have won at least one set against top favorite Luke Humphries. Even victory would have been possible for the blatant outsider if he had played more consistently. Although Humphries won 3:0, he put in his worst performance in the past three months.

In this period, "Cool Hand Luke" has won three major tournaments and emerged as the absolute top man in the darts world. But there was little sign of that in the World Championship opener. "I wasn't at my best, but the most important thing for me is that it felt good," explained Humphries, who has never made it past the quarter-finals at the World Championships. "I just wanted to get through my first game, because that's often the hardest. I'll play much better after Christmas. If I play the way I can, it's going to take a big performance to beat me."

Price opener and Clemens opponent

One player who can be expected to put in a "great performance" at any time is Gerwyn Price. The 2021 World Champion starts the tournament this Monday evening (11 p.m., Dazn/Sport1). His opponent is the English debutant Connor Scutt, who impressed with a strong double rate in his first round match, but should not be a major hurdle for Price. Provided the "Iceman" doesn't follow on from his last appearance at the "Ally Pally", when he lost to Gabriel Clemens in a memorable quarter-final and only stood out because of his huge earmuffs.

Clemens is also likely to be looking ahead to the World Championships tonight, as his opening opponent will be determined in the second match of the evening. Dutch youngster Gian van Veen is the clear favorite against Man Lok Leung from Hong Kong. Meanwhile, the match between Thibault Tricole has a historic note, as Tricole is the participant in the history of the PDC World Championship.

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Despite the initial set loss and a horror start, Florian Hempel managed to secure his spot in the World Championship relegation battle, winning against Dylan Slevin 3-2. With this victory, Hempel remains hopeful in the darts relegation battle, aiming to secure his tour card for the professional tour.

Thanks to his consistent performance in the World Championships, Florian Hempel has maintained his position as one of the top players. His third-round victory against Dylan Slevin, followed by his victory in the relegation battle for the tour card, highlights his determination and skill in the World Championships.

Source: www.ntv.de