D.Germany’s best dart professional Gabriel Clemens easily qualified for the start of the World Cup in London and reached the third round. The 38-year-old Saarlander prevailed 3-0 against Welsh youngster Lewy Williams on Thursday evening after a few early setbacks, thus, as in the previous year, in the 32nd round. It starts on December 27th. Clemens meets Premier League winner Johnny Clayton from Wales on Monday (10.30pm on Sport 1 and DAZN).
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The “German Giant”, also known as Clemens, had to spend Christmas in the British capital due to strict isolation rules. Clemens will start as a clear outfielder against Clayton. In the fight with the young Williams, Clemens took advantage of the fact that his opponent missed almost every opportunity on the dual domains. He was ruthless in this regard, converting six of the seven shots in the first two sets. The best German professional was able to achieve average performance over long distances to reach the next round.
Florian Hembell is still represented in the competition. After defeating Belgium’s fifth seed Dimitri van den Berg, he is in the third round and will face Australian foreigner Raymond Smith on Monday (4pm). Hembell is currently enjoying the most exciting and successful phase of his career at the World Cup. As an individual, the 31-year-old from Cologne has a lot to cut. Due to strict isolation rules, Hembell could not go home at Christmas, and he spent the romantic festival in London.
Christmas at the Blair Hotel
“Of course, this is not what you want when your son is at home, celebrating Christmas with the whole family, and you can only connect with him at maximum time,” said Hembel of the German newspaper agency. He said he would make Christmas at the Soldiers Hotel “definitely beautiful depending on the situation”. The former Second Division handball player won a stunning 3-1 win over Van Den Berg on Tuesday evening.
In distress, Raymond von Barneveld shot his three arrows and snuck out of the world’s largest darts platform. The return of the adventurer lost 3-1 to former England world champion Rob Cross after the second round. “He was a legend and played as a champion in the first set, but once I got my bearings, I had the game to beat him,” Cross commented, adding that he had to wait a bit for the sad loser’s congratulations.
It was very atmospheric again ahead of Christmas at the Palace of Alexandra in London. Although Cross is English, nearly 3,000 fans stood together behind Van Bourneveld and formed the famous “Barney Army” over the seasons with the 54-year-old. “I have never seen a situation like this for many years,” Cross said. It was only when he equalized the 0-1 deficit that it became a little quieter in the happy beer hall.
What’s next for Van Bourneveld? He resigned in December 2019 and announced his resignation for one year. He was ranked 68th in the world before the current World Cup. The way back up will be long – the badly curved “Barney” found out about it on Thursday evening. Cross now faces Northern Irishman Daryl Gurney in the third round. Cross won the world title against record champion Bill Taylor in his debut in 2018. Von Barneveld’s five trophies (1998, 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007) are far from the most important competition in the world.
The secret of darts
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Looking for the right junk
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By the afternoon, Austrian Mensor Suljovic had already said goodbye to the rankings. After forgetting several match darts and taking a 2-0 lead, the experienced player lost 3-2 to Scottish Allen Sowder. Portugal’s Jose de Souza beat England’s Jason Low 3-2. The third round starts on December 27th. Then even experienced professionals can compete with each other. The finals will take place on January 3 at the Alexandra Palace.