Darts euphoria at the Team World Cup: This German national team is successful

Darts euphoria at the Team World Cup
This German national team is successful

By Kevin Schulte, Frankfurt
06/17/2023, 08:48 am

Germany can rely on this team: Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler also win their second group game at the World Team Championships in darts in Frankfurt with 4:0. In the round of 16, sensational record holder Poland is now waiting.

The successful German national team consists of Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler these days. At the World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt am Main, the two best local players also win their second preliminary round game late on Friday evening. After the 4-0 win against Hong Kong on Thursday, Japan is not a big hurdle for Germany either. Once again, the “German Giant” and “The Wall” didn’t lose a single leg to deafening cheers from the 2,000 fans in the ice rink and are now looking forward to the round of 16. Poland of all people will be waiting there. Can the dart professionals do what the DFB team failed to do?

But one after anonther. It’s around 11 p.m. when Clemens and Schindler step onto the stage at the World Team Championship. “Germany” songs, Gabriel Clemens songs, Martin Schindler songs. Many fans have long been standing on the beer benches when the best German darters don’t play themselves intoxicated, but still easily win against the Japanese, who are overwhelmed by the atmosphere. That evening in the ice rink there is what Rudi Völler & Co. would like: euphoria.

“We’re glad we made it through,” said Schindler in an ntv interview after the win. “It’s a great feeling to play in this hall. It’s great how big darts have become. But it’s not always easy in front of a home crowd.”

Clemens also admitted that the duo felt a lot of pressure. “Japan won in the afternoon, so it was clear that we had to beat them to go through. In the short format you have to start well. We did that very well.”

Team World Cup? “One of the best tournaments”

Unlike one or the other team in the tournament, which doesn’t harmonize so well, Clemens and Schindler are best friends. “Personally, I have to say that the World Cup of Darts is one of the hottest tournaments. You don’t usually get that feeling of playing doubles. Then you play with someone you know well,” said Schindler happily. The two obviously can’t get enough of the special double mode. “I wouldn’t mind playing a second tournament a year with Martin.”

In the interview, the two Germans did not express a wish for the round of 16 draw that took place an hour later. It became Poland. It could have been nominally much worse, but Clemens and Schindler are guaranteed not to underestimate their opponents Krzysztof Ratajski and Krzysztof Kciuk, after all Poland made darts history on Friday evening just a few hours before the German appearance.

In the 4-1 win against Lithuania, the Poles scored an average of 118 points per shot (3 darts). They broke the record set by former Dutch world champions Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld (117) in 2014.

Belgium? This time without a scandal

Meanwhile, the Netherlands is one of the four top-seeded nations who will only take part in the tournament this Saturday. The explosive Benelux derby against Belgium was drawn. They, in turn, beat China 4:3 in their second group game on Friday evening and did not cause any further uproar this time.

The night before, Belgian team partners Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts had not looked at each other before, during or after their opening game. Everything was different against China. A clarifying conversation had been held in advance, it was said in the afternoon. “We would like to apologize to our fans. It’s not like we’re best friends again or saying oh, everything is settled now. But we are Team Belgium. The World Cup of Darts is much bigger and more important than ours egos,” said Huybrechts at the press conference.

Van den Bergh then added to ntv: “We know that we have a responsibility and that we are a role model, not only for Belgium but for all young players in the world. That’s why we wanted to show that it’s important to be professional, it doesn’t matter how the situation is private.”

Other nations played not only professionally, but actually harmoniously on this second day of the tournament in Frankfurt. For example Croatia, which surprisingly qualified for the round of 16 in its first team World Cup participation in ten years. It is a very special achievement for amateur player Romeo Grbavac, who plays alongside Croatian pro Boris Krcmar. The 29-year-old lives, works and plays Bundesliga darts in Darmstadt, very close by.

A significantly further journey lies behind the Filipino team. However, it did not harm Christian Perez and Lourence Ilagan. They are the only Asian duo to qualify for the round of 16. In addition to the Philippines, Australia, Canada and South Africa also made it into the last 16 as non-European nations.