International - Winning start: Clemens in round three of the World Darts Championship
Gabriel Clemens has fulfilled his compulsory task at the start of the World Darts Championship and can compete again at Alexandra Palace in London after Christmas. Last year's semi-finalist won 3:1 against outsider Man Lok Leung from Hong Kong on Thursday evening and is now through to the third round. After Christmas, he will face the English co-favorite Dave Chisnall, who also won his opening match.
For the German Giant, it was a return to the venue where he defeated the then number one Gerwyn Price from Wales almost twelve months ago to secure the biggest success of his career. "It felt good. I wasn't nervous, I prepared well. The game was a bit mixed, but I was there at the right moments. That was good, that's why I won," said Clemens.
In front of just over 3,000 fans - many of them from Germany - the favorite put in a performance that could have been better overall. Clemens won the first set with a 140-point finish. The match remained tightly contested after that, but Clemens showed the better nerves in set four and prevailed.
The 40-year-old from Saarland is now the first German professional to reach the third round at this World Championships. On Friday (20:00/Sport1 and DAZN), Florian Hempel and Martin Schindler have the chance to follow suit. Hempel will face Belgium's star Dimitri van den Bergh.
Schindler is the favorite against Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena and would then face Scott Williams, who surprisingly won 3-0 against Dutch world-class pro Danny Noppert on Thursday. On Saturday, debutant Ricardo Pietreczko will play Englishman Callan Rydz.
Information on the World Darts Championship PDC World Rankings World Championship Schedule Data on Gabriel Clemens
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Source: www.stern.de
