Existential thoughts torment Max Hopp
The crash of the German darts super talent
12/08/2022 9:46 p.m
When he was young, Max Hopp dreamed of winning the world title, but at 26 he was further away than ever. German darts professionals have now passed the “Maximiser”. He’s wondering how long he can hold out.
There are all kinds of unusual participants at the biggest darts party in the world: a former handball goalkeeper from Cologne (Florian Hempel), a former baseball player from the USA (Leonard Gates) and an 18-year-old teenager (Beau Greaves) . Only the name, which is probably still the most familiar to German Pfeile fans, will be missing again in the XXL field inflated to 96 participants in the Alexandra Palace in London: Max Hopp. The “Maximiser” has crashed in sport and has maneuvered himself into a dead end, where the question could soon be: continue? Or give up everything?
For the moment, the 26-year-old answers this question clearly. “I’m at a shaky point, but I’ll give myself the time. I primarily play darts for myself. Then we’ll see how many years I’ll play,” said Hopp of the German Press Agency before the World Cup. Around the world’s biggest tournament (December 15 to January 3), Hopp will take on a role as expert and co-commentator. He compares himself to the former soccer world champion Bastian Schweinsteiger, who is currently accompanying the tournament in Qatar on site.
Sporty at its lowest point
Schweinsteiger won the most important trophy in his sport in 2014 – around this time, Hopp, who was still very young at the time, announced his goal of wanting to become world champion one day. In the following years things went uphill, Hopp even reached a place in the top 25 in the world rankings, in 2018 he reached the semi-finals of the European Championship and was voted young player of the year the following year.
In recent years, however, he has strayed further and further from these successes. Hopp is not only absent from the World Cup for the second time in a row, but has also lost his so-called tour card, which entitles him to participate in numerous tournaments of the professional dart organization PDC.
Hopp is at a low point in sport, nationally the former hope in Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler have long since been overtaken by others. “Darts is still my passion. But if nothing happens in the next five years, I don’t want to rule anything out. I’m in my mid-20s, there could be completely different chapters in my life. There was a career break now, because it was a relatively steep climb,” said Hopp. His other roles around the World Cup: Expert on Dutch and German TV and sparring partner for actors who are challenged in “Ally Pally” themselves.
This is a dangerous situation for Hopp
Dart professionals do not get a salary, but have to cover the running costs for travel, logistics and their own livelihood with their prize money. This is a dangerous situation for Hopp. “It’s a slump in his career, you have to say that. There are such developments, but there are also those who are out and won’t come back,” said expert Elmar Paulke of the dpa. Hopp is only 26, that’s no age in darts. In the disappointing years 2021 and 2022, however, a maximum of isolated highlights indicate that Hopp can find his way back to his old strength. Above all, it lacks consistency.
The native of Hesse knows that himself. “The next few years will show what stuff I’m made of – whether I’ll get back up there or stay an average player,” said Hopp. He is currently “in a discovery phase”. The way back is anything but easy. While Clemens, Schindler and Co. are allowed to shine on the big World Cup stage in the Advent season, Hopp has to successfully complete the so-called Qualifying School in the new year in order to even be eligible for major tournaments in 2023. The once proclaimed goal, the world title, is further away for Hopp than ever.