Schindler also in round three of the World Cup
Florian Hempel makes an incredible darts comeback
December 22, 2023, 10:00 p.m
The German Florian Hempel turns up the heat at the World Cup and throws last year’s semi-finalist Dimitri van den Bergh out of the tournament. The victory has another direct consequence for the darts professional.
Florian Hempel made a brilliant comeback at the World Darts Championship in London and once again knocked Belgian star Dimitri van den Bergh out of the tournament. The 33-year-old from Cologne turned around a 0-2 deficit with a sensational comeback and surprisingly won 3-2. “I’m the man for comebacks,” said Hempel during the winner’s interview.
Two years and one day ago, Hempel had already won this duel at the World Cup, 3-1. The former handball player got off to a weak start, but then improved noticeably and actually prevailed in the end thanks to strong nerves. Van den Bergh missed a total of three match darts but proved to be a fair loser after the game, while Hempel could hardly believe his luck.
For the second year in a row, Martin Schindler is in the third round of the World Cup.
(Photo: picture alliance / Action Plus)
The victory is important for Hempel for two reasons: He remains in the race at the World Cup and will face Stephen Bunting or Ryan Joyce (both England) in round three after Christmas. Hempel is also defending his tour card, which allows him to take part in many important tournaments in 2024. In the event of a defeat, Hempel would have faced a long trek through several qualifying tournaments in order to retain his status as a professional player on the PDC circuit.
Immediately after Hempel’s furious comeback, the next German, Martin Schindler, moved straight into the third round of the Darts World Cup. The world number 26. defeated the Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena confidently 3-1. “The Wall” got off to a brilliant start in the game and was quickly ahead 2-0. In the third set, Schindler missed a match dart, but was unfazed by it. After the Christmas break at the World Cup, the 27-year-old continues against the English surprise man Scott Williams.
On Thursday evening, Gabriel Clemens was the first German to reach the third round and will now face the English world-class professional Dave Chisnall. Ricardo Pietreczko could complete the German third-round quartet. “Pikachu” will face Callan Rydz on Saturday. But this world championship is already historic from a German perspective: never before have three Germans been in the round of the last 32 of the most important darts tournament in the world.