Trouble-free opening win: Darts hope Hopp is ready for the "King"

Thursday 17th December 2020

Problem-free to the opening win
Darts hope Hopp is ready for the "King"

From Kevin Schulte

The dream of making it into the round of 16 of the Darts World Cup for the first time is living. Max Hopp, one of three German hopes in the "Ally Pally", is in round two after a smooth 3-0 win. And there could again overthrow the "king".

For years the darts hopes of an entire nation have been on Max Hopp's shoulders. So far, the 24 year old has not been able to meet the high (and often exaggerated) expectations of the biggest tournament of the year. At the latest in the round of the last 32 it was the end of the line. At the start of the 2021 World Cup, the "Maximiser" has proven that it can be good to fall out of the limelight.

Hopp, who had to surrender his status as the top German player in the world rankings to Gabriel Clemens before the World Cup, shows a remarkably mature and tidy performance in his first round match, never leaving any doubts about victory in the smooth 3-0 over Australian outsider Gordon Mathers. The ghost backdrop – spectators have to stay outside since the second day of the tournament – didn't bother him either. "It's a new experience this year. Usually there are a lot of German fans in the hall. But I'm sure they saw my victory on TV," says the world number 40. in an interview after the game.

In any case, the German darts fans will also be sitting in front of the TV on Saturday afternoon when Hopp meets Mervyn King, who is 19 th. Although the Hessian goes into the game as a slight outsider after a moderate year, Hopp does not have to hide in his eighth World Cup participation in nine years. Rather, the duel with the "king" brings back positive memories. At the 2015 World Cup, the then 19-year-old won sensationally against the experienced King. "I had my breakthrough at the World Cup against Mervyn. Maybe now, after an average year, I will experience a kind of second breakthrough," said Hopp.

Lisa Ashton loses high class duel

Lisa Ashton also hoped for a kind of second breakthrough. The 50-year-old Englishwoman is one of two women at the World Cup and has won the all-women World Cup in the amateur association BDO four times. The hope of a surprise success in round one with the men cannot be fulfilled. Ashton loses a high-class game against the formidable Adam Hunt with 2: 3. "Lisa played brilliantly and put me under pressure all the time. I'm really happy that I won the game," said the Hunter after the match.

Only Ryan Joyce celebrated an even narrower victory on the second day of the tournament at Alexandra Palace. The Englishman prevailed against Karel Sedlacek with 3: 2, and after the end of the game he could hardly believe his luck because his Czech opponent missed six (!) Match darts. "I'm glad that I was able to cross the finish line. Maybe this game will give me a boost now," said Joyce, looking back on the further course of the tournament.

Premier League champion struggles after corona infection

The favored Chris Dobey and Glen Durrant have also made it into the next round. The world number 22. Dobey turns a 2-0 deficit against Canadian Jeff Smith into a 3-2 win. Durrant, reigning Premier League winner, celebrates a smooth 3-0 win over Brazilian Diogo Portela. "I'm very happy that I won, but that was a pretty poor performance," said "Duzza" self-critically after the game.

The Englishman wants to find his way out of the performance gap at the World Cup. After he had to fail in the fall due to a coronavirus infection and had a serious illness, Durrant has not yet found his top form again. "I hope that I can turn around the World Cup and play like a Premier League champion again," said Duzza.

Daryl Gurney is also hoping for a return to its old form. The Northern Irishman fell from fourth to eleven in the world rankings within a short period of time and can look back on an extremely weak year. This afternoon Gurney meets Irishman William O'Connor. On the evening of the third day of the tournament, the first game of the Grand Slam winner José de Sousa awaits. The Portuguese became a world-class player within a year, but has never won a single game in three World Cups. That should now change against Ross Smith.

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