Germany is out in the last 16 of darts
Germany exited the Team-WM in Darts at the quarterfinals against Northern Ireland in a dramatic fashion. Martin Schindler and Gabriel Clemens lost bitterly in the deciding leg. Similarly, two favorites also suffered the same fate.
On this Saturday evening, Germany managed to make it to only one quarterfinal at the Frankfurter Eissporthalle. While the footballers advanced to the quarterfinals at the home-EM, the big dream of German darts elite players Martin Schindler and Gabriel Clemens was shattered. In the World Cup of Darts, the Team-World Championship, Germany lost in the quarterfinals to Northern Ireland.
It was an exciting game in the early Saturday evening at the Frankfurter Eissporthalle. Martin Schindler brought Germany to 3:4 with a 100-point checkout. The game went into halftime. However, Schindler and Clemens could not continue where they left off before the break. Instead, Josh Rock and Brendan Dolan took a 7:4 lead. The spectators supported the German duo loudly, with many wearing the jerseys of the German football national team, and sang chants repeatedly. Suddenly, it was 7:7, but Rock and Dolan were once again in control in the decisive leg, leaving Schindler and Clemens disappointed.
Germany fails to make it to the quarterfinals against England
For the first time since 2019, Germany did not reach at least the quarterfinals at the only double-tour event. As a result, there will be no match against top favorite England, which starts with the current world champion Luke Humphries and his predecessor Michael Smith, and had no trouble against France on Saturday evening.
Scotland, with two-time world champions Peter Wright and Gary Anderson, is just as sovereign a round further. In the quarterfinals, the Scots are clear favorites against Sweden. In the semifinals, it could then come to a match against England.
Surprise eliminations by Croatia and Italy
However, the top teams have already left the competition in the other half. Defending champions Wales were surprisingly eliminated by outsiders Croatia with a score of 6:8. Jim Williams could not compensate for Gerwyn Price's health-related absence for Wales alongside Jonny Clayton.
"My whole life revolves around darts. I came to Germany two years ago, have been working in a sports bar in Darmstadt ever since, and play there with my team in the Bundesliga. That's how I've improved," said Grabavac, who was previously successful as a kickboxer but has since focused on darts.
An even bigger sensation was Italy's success. Michele Turetta and Massimo Dalla Rosa defeated the titleholder of 2022, Australia, dramatically with a score of 8:7. Previously, the Australians Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock had missed six match darts and missed out on a quarterfinal against Belgium.
Surprising victory for Belgium against the Netherlands
The Belgian duo - Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts - defeated the Netherlands surprisingly clearly with 8:2. Van den Bergh and Huybrechts had many high scores during the game. However, on the decisive double points, Noppert and van Gerwen left too many opportunities.
Van den Bergh and Huybrechts, who have not been able to get along for several years, are making their way strongly despite lacking team chemistry. The approach of professionally dealing with the situation and uniting under the Belgian flag is going completely according to plan so far. In the lower half of the tournament - Italy waits in the quarterfinals, Austria or Croatia in the semifinals - Belgium is even the favorite for the final entry.
This was particularly noticed by Kim Huybrechts after the game. The "Hurricane," as he is called, exuded self-confidence. "I knew beforehand that we were going to have a very good game," Huybrechts said and was surprised by Michael van Gerwen's playstyle. "He was calm throughout the entire game, I didn't hear anything from him. Normally, he has the loudest mouth. That was different this time. Danny Noppert shouted more than he did."
In the World Cup of Darts, also known as the Team-World Championship, Michael van Gerwen and his fellow Dutch players faced a surprising defeat against Belgium, with the Belgian duo of Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts emerging victorious. Despite Van Gerwen's usually vocal playstyle, he was unusually quiet during the match.
Despite playing exceptionally well in individual competitions, Michael van Gerwen has struggled in team events such as the World Championships, often falling short of expectations. This year, however, the German darts elite players Martin Schindler and Gabriel Clemens shared a similar fate, losing in the quarterfinals to Northern Ireland in the Team-World Championship.
