Comeback? “I feel that!”
The bitter fall of darts prodigy Max Hopp
November 6th, 2023, 8:26 p.m
At the age of 16, Max Hopp is already on the biggest stage in the darts world, playing the World Cup at Alexandra Palace. He is celebrated as a child prodigy. And proclaims the title as a goal. Eleven years later, Max Hopp is further away than ever from the top of the world and is thinking about a new career.
There were times when Max Hopp earned over 15,000 euros with a win. In Germany, the “Maximiser” was not only seen as a bearer of hope, but also as a “darts prodigy”. Fans were hoping for the big hit and the associated breakthrough of the arrow sport, which is often staged as a party. Those days are long gone. 2023 was the worst year of Hopp’s career so far. And his reality on the second-rate Challenge Tour of the professional darts organization PDC sounds like this today: “You first play three games for nothing and then for 75 pounds – you have to find your way around that first. It’s not about the prize money, it’s just about winning .”
But winning no longer works either. After completing all 24 tournaments, the Challenge Tour puts Hopp in 60th place in the rankings, far away from the top and with prize money of 1,675 pounds (less than 2,000 euros). What does that do to an athlete who made his debut at London’s Alexandra Palace at the age of 16 and once bluntly declared the world title as his goal? “I feel that I can fight my way back up again. I feel that, I’m really up for it again. I see it as a challenge and not as relegation to the second league,” said the 27-year-old Hopp.
Everyday job and occasional darter?
From Tuesday, the Hessian will play in the German Super League in Bitburg for the last chance for a ticket for this year’s World Cup (from December 15th). Hopp is one of 24 starters, a Super League victory would be a sensation after this year of epidemics. With Daniel Klose and Pascal Rupprecht, two newcomers on the professional tour passed in a sporty manner. The German top trio Gabriel Clemens, Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko, who have already qualified for the World Cup, have long since eluded the former leader and are now playing for the sums that were once at stake for Hopp.
A year ago, darts expert Elmar Paulke spoke of “a slump” in Hopp’s career. “There are such developments, but there are also those who are out and never come back,” said Paulke. Hopp currently has to fear that the latter will happen to him despite all his motivation. What does Hopp plan to do in this case? “I already have a cushion and have saved money in the good years, but yes, it could well be the situation that I deal with it: everyday job and only play darts Thursday to Sunday,” he said. “I’m not familiar with a coffee break with colleagues like that. I think about that too.”
Career as a TV man?
Hopp also recently had coffee breaks and long conversations over breakfast with a darts legend: Together with the 16-time world champion Phil Taylor from England, Hopp was on a seven-day cruise in the North Sea and the English Channel, where a darts show was organized every evening. Around 1,000 of the 3,000 guests on board had bought a special package to see Taylor, Hopp and Co. play. “That was of course a very special honor and a very special story. Hitting a double like that in five-meter-high waves is difficult,” described Hopp.
Is the former world-class athlete increasingly moving away from profit and focusing more on show and gala events? Or even TV reality formats? Hopp denies this. The connection to darts must be maintained. “You should never say never. I’ve been confronted with certain TV formats without going into detail. But I want to be perceived as an athlete. I’m interested in everything that has to do with sport.”