Only one legendary retirement puts "Pikachu" in the shade
Ricardo Pietreczko is the fourth German to reach the second round of the World Darts Championship. On his debut in London, "Pikachu" won without any problems and was surprised by the fans. However, the darts evening was overshadowed by the retirement announcement of a legend.
Booed and losing his nerve in November, emotionally stable six weeks later and cold as a dog's snout on his World Championship debut: that sums up Ricardo Pietrecuko's opening match at the 2024 World Darts Championship. Germany's darts shooting star defeated Japan's Mikuru Suzuki 3:0, was 9:1 ahead after legs and celebrated the perfect debut at Alexandra Palace, London's darts mecca.
The sporting starting position before the match was clear: Pietreczko has played an outstanding year, becoming only the second German in darts history to win a title on the European Tour. His level of play is worlds above that of his opponent. However, Pietreczko's confused performance at the Grand Slam of Darts in November was still a stumbling block. Six weeks ago, Pietreczko completely lost his nerve against England's Beau Greaves and got into a fight with the fans during the match.
Apart from a few boos during the walk-on, it was an extremely relaxed World Championship debut for Pietreczko in front of 3000 spectators in the "Ally Pally". Pietreczko himself had not expected so much relaxation. "I was expecting more resistance from the crowd," revealed "Pikachu" in an interview with the specialist portal "dartn.de". But the opposite was the case. "The majority were either quiet or for me."
Next opponent? "Not in a good mood recently"
For Pietreczko, the victory continues a steep rise. In the world rankings, the man from Nuremberg has climbed to 35th place - and the magic threshold of the top 32 is within his grasp. Another victory would bring "Pikachu" even closer to the illustrious circle. On Saturday afternoon, Pietreczko will have to win against the 30th seeded Englishman Callan Rydz. Judging by his performances in recent months, the German is actually slightly favored against his higher-ranked opponent. "He hasn't been in such a good mood recently. I hope he keeps it up. But I know what he can do," said Pietreczko on Sport1 about his next opponent.
The World Championship evening went much worse for another German player: Dragutin Horvat, the only non-professional among the five German World Championship participants, was eliminated 0:3 by Belgium's Mike De Decker. The 45-year-old was unable to build on his good performances over the course of the year. "Real Deal", as De Decker is nicknamed, was at least a class above his opponent from Kassel.
"I didn't show what I can do in any way, not for a minute, not for a second. Nothing came together. That was totally surprising for me, because I played outstandingly well in training today and yesterday," said a noticeably disappointed Horvat on Dazn after the game. He had "probably expected too much", added the two-time German Super League winner.
Darts legend wants to retire
Alongside Pietreczko and Horvat, the fifth day of the World Darts Championship was also a day of legends: Perennial favorite Steve Beaton, competing at the World Championship for the 33rd time in a row, defeated young Dutchman Wessel Nijman 3:1 in a high-class match. Beaton caused a surprise after the match when he announced his retirement from professional sport for the end of 2024. "No matter how this tournament goes, I'll soon be 60 years old. It's a grueling tour," said the "Bronzed Adonis" and announced that he wanted to focus more on his family life. "I've been married for 30 years and my wife hardly ever sees me."
Superstar Michael van Gerwen is still a long way from thinking about retiring. The Dutchman held his own in the last match of the evening, winning 3:0 against a Keane Barry who was completely indisposed on the doubles. Nevertheless, "MvG" was only partially satisfied with his own performance. "There's a lot of pressure on me and all the other top players not to lose the first match. I'm just glad that I'll be back after Christmas and hopefully show what I can do then," commented van Gerwen.
At least the three-time World Champion can return to the "Ally Pally" - co-favorite James Wade is not allowed to do so. The Englishman was the first seeded player to be eliminated from the tournament, losing to Matt Campbell after a hard-fought match. Afterwards, the Canadian spoke of the "biggest win of his career" and now wants to do the same as Michael van Gerwen: "I'm now looking forward to enjoying Christmas.
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Despite Pietreczko's impressive win at the World Darts Championships, the event was overshadowed by the retirement announcement of a darts legend. The retiring player, Steve Beaton, has been competing in the World Championships for 33 consecutive years and is set to retire at the end of 2024.
If Ricardo Pietreczko can continue his winning streak, he will have a good chance of making it to the top 32 in the world rankings. His next opponent, Callan Rydz, hasn't been in great form recently, but Pietreczko acknowledges that he is a tough competitor. With another victory, Pietreczko could put himself within striking distance of the elite circle of professional dart players, which includes legendary players like Beaton who are competing at the World Championships.
Source: www.ntv.de
