"Angry at myself": Clemens fails in the most dramatic way

Tuesday 29 December 2020

"Mad at myself"
Clemens fails in the most dramatic way

The World Cup adventure of German darts hopeful Gabriel Clemens is over. The first German in a World Cup round of 16 loses dramatically 3: 4 against his Polish opponent Krzysztof Ratajski. In the end, Clemens has several chances to win, but his arrows don't find the target.

The dream of Gabriel Clemens as the first German darts world champion fell dramatically. Just two days after his famous coup against champion Peter Wright, the 37-year-old lost 3: 4 to Krzysztof Ratajski in the round of 16 on Tuesday evening. Clemens awarded numerous match darts in the decision leg.

"I'm mad at myself. Something like that shouldn't happen to me," said Clemens, who discarded some match darts, in the Sport1 interview: "What should I say now? At the moment I can't see anything positive."

The Pole is Clemens' feared opponent and had previously won all five clashes. The "German Giant" could not confirm its excellent performance from the 4: 3 victory over Wright. As on Sunday evening, little things were decided in London this time – the game turned into a drama. Clemens let the victory lie several times, and Ratajski also failed his nerves in the end – until he finally scored the decisive shot.

The top 30 beckons

Clemens was the first German professional ever to reach the round of 16 at the world's largest tournament. His victories over compatriot Nico Kurz (3: 1) and Wright had raised the hope of many fans that the Saarlander could make it to the quarter-finals and thus into the new year. But there is now Ratajski playing, who will have to deal with the winner of the game Stephen Bunting and Ryan Searle (both England) on New Years (from 1 p.m. / Sport1 and DAZN). The favorites Wright and ex-European champion James Wade have already been eliminated in this quarter,

Clemens had started enthusiastically in his third appearance in front of empty ranks due to the corona. "For me it's no excitement. I'm full of anticipation – I'm looking forward to being able to play again at Ally Pally this year," he said before the game at Sport1.

But even without the World Cup quarter-finals, a very strong and successful year comes to an end for Clemens: He defeated top players like Wright, Rob Cross and Nathan Aspinall (both England) in important tournaments, in the ranking he passed Max Hopp and is now the Number one among the German darts professionals. With his eighth finals at the World Cup, Clemens could also make it into the top 30 in the world after the tournament.