Darts-WM in London
The Saarlander won the direct duel with the Scottish world class player after an extremely strong performance 4: 3 and is the first German in the history of the World Cup to reach the round of 16. For the “German Giant”, as the 37-year-old Saarlander is called, it is the greatest success in his career to date. He also played the so far highest average of a German player at a World Cup.
The German was completely overwhelmed at Alexandra Palace, the largest darts stage in the world, and fought back tears after defeating the champion. «He’s a world champion, I’m the outsider. For me the third round was a success. I said I’ll enjoy it and give it an uphill battle. I succeeded, ”said Clemens at Sport1. He feels “pretty empty at the moment”.
In the second round, Clemens will now face Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski, who defeated Australian Simon Whitlock 4-0. For co-favorite «Snakebite» Wright, who presented the fans in Alexandra Palace with a costume for Christmas thief «Grinch», the second world title is history for the time being. Clemens, on the other hand, has a good chance against secret favorite Ratajski and thus has the opportunity to be the first German to reach a World Cup quarter-finals.
For the German it’s the best year of his career so far. In 2020, Clemens defeated England’s Nathan Aspinall and Rob Cross in important major matches. He lost to the later title holder Wright at the European Championships in October – this time he won the thrilling duel of arrows.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201227-99-825899 / 3
The Scot Peter Wright was eliminated 3: 4 against Gabriel Clemens. Photo: John Walton / PA Wire / dpa
© John Walton (dpa)— .
