This is how brash the Germans are going into the World Darts Championship

One year after Gabriel Clemens' sensational semi-final appearance, the hype surrounding the World Darts Championship is immense. For the first time, five Germans will be competing in the most important tournament of the year. Being there is everything? Not the motto of Clemens & Co.

Gabriel Clemens now has to bundle the numerous inquiries into a press conference, Martin Schindler wants to reach higher than ever before and Ricardo Pietreczko is talking directly about the World Championship title: led by last year's semi-finalist, the almost World Champion winner and the brash debutant, the Germans are going into the World Darts Championship in London with better prospects than ever before.

Ricardo Pietreczko, nicknamed "Pikachu", even proclaims the biggest possible goal for Alexandra Palace without any modesty: "I'm going to the tournament to win it. That's what 90 percent of the players have in mind. You'd be lying if you said: I'm going there to get knocked out in the third round. You always want to win." Up until this year, German professionals have not been so ambitious when it comes to goals and expectations.

Pietreczko has qualified for the World Championships for the first time ever. This year, the 29-year-old from Nuremberg became only the second German ever to win a tournament on the European Tour in darts history. In his triumph in Hildesheim in October, "Pikachu" beat three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen and the 2020 and 2022 champion Peter Wright, among others. "I showed everyone that I can beat the world's greats. Of course, you go into the next games with a different feeling," Pietreczko revealed in the darts podcast "Checkout".

Pietreczko could face top favorites early on

Pietreczko may have to beat the greatest of them all in London's "Ally Pally" if he wants to keep his World Championship dream alive: Luke Humphries could be waiting in the third round of the World Championship. After three Major titles in the past three months, the Englishman goes into the tournament as the top favorite. However, Humphries has not yet made it past the quarter-finals at the World Championships.

Gabriel Clemens is therefore one step ahead of him. The Saarlander's semi-final appearance marked a new era in German professional darts. The 2024 World Championship, which kicks off this Friday evening (8pm/Sport1 and Dazn) with the opening match of reigning champion Michael Smith, marks the next milestone: for the first time, five Germans have qualified for the most important tournament of the year: Gabriel Clemens, Martin Schindler, Ricardo Pietreczko, Florian Hempel and Dragutin Horvat.

In addition, around a quarter of the 90,000 tickets have been sold to Germans. Especially after Christmas, the rush of fans is huge. "It's obviously a great development that we're experiencing in Germany. There are not only more players. The sporting successes are also increasing," says Hempel, who used to be a handball goalkeeper in the 3rd division and is now throwing darts at the "Ally Pally" for the third time. With a view to the high expectations of darts fans hungry for success, Schindler adds: "I think you can see that overall, the Germans are getting closer and closer. But getting closer is not enough for the Germans. The Germans want to see tournament wins."

Holding up the trophy? "My dream, of course"

Schindler, who is only just behind Clemens in 26th place in the world rankings, wants to reach as high as he did at the World Championships. Until last year, the tournament in London was not a good place for the 27-year-old German. Then came his first win and in the third round Schindler only just lost to the eventual world champion Michael Smith after leading 3:1. Reaching the last 32 again is the minimum goal, says Schindler in the "Checkout" podcast: "After that, it would be Danny Noppert. That will be the tough hurdle over the course of the tournament, but in my opinion it's a 50:50 game. Of course, my dream is to lift the trophy at the end of the tournament, but I'm taking it one step at a time."

Although there is still no German in the top 20 of the world rankings, the successes are actually increasing. Clemens' World Championship semi-final on January 2 this year was the highlight for the time being, and Pietreczko's triumph in Hildesheim was a sensation. Good results for the Germans are now coming more regularly: Schindler reached the quarter-finals at two tournaments with high prize money, Clemens also reached the semi-finals together with Schindler at the World Team Championships in June and also played his way through to the final round at the World Championship dress rehearsal, the Players Championship Finals at the end of November.

The international competition has also been taking a closer look since Clemens showed Primus Gerwyn Price how it's done at the World Championships, causing him to despair with his earmuffs and playing his way into the spotlight of the world's top players. "Gabriel is breathtaking, Martin is breathtaking. And Pikachu is just appearing on the scene," praised former world champion Rob Cross. Darts boss Werner von Moltke judges: "The level of the German players is constantly improving."

"The boss has given me the go-ahead"

Florian Hempel and Dragutin Horvat also want to prove this. Unlike the German top trio, the two are going into the tournament, which has prize money of 2.9 million euros, as outsiders, but are also counting on respectable successes. For Hempel, there is nothing less at stake than remaining on the professional tour. The 33-year-old has to win at least one, if not two matches. Hempel is slightly favored against Irish debutant Dylan Slevin, while he will need a top performance against world number 15 Dimitri Van den Bergh to progress. However, Hempel already pulled off a surprise against the Belgian at the World Championships two years ago. "There was something there. But what happened two years ago has absolutely no relevance this time," Hempel commented in the "Checkout" podcast.

Horvat, from Kassel, is the only player in the German quintet who is not a professional but has a normal job as a warehouse clerk. "My employer gave me the whole of December off," says Horvat happily, looking forward to his first World Cup appearance after seven years away. "I was so nervous that I have no memories at all. It was too much all at once. I'll be able to soak up a lot more this time."

Read also:

The German debutant Ricardo Pietreczko, known as "Pikachu", has declared his ambition to win the World Darts Championship in London, reflecting the increased ambition among German players in the sport. With five Germans competing in the World Championships, including last year's semi-finalist Gabriel Clemens, the expectations are higher than ever before.

Gabriel Clemens and his fellow German players are set to face tough competitors in the World Darts Championships, with Ricardo Pietreczko possibly having to overcome the top favorite Luke Humphries in the early rounds if he wants to keep his dream of winning alive.

Source: www.ntv.de