War comparison in “Ally Pally”
England “shatters” German dreams at the Darts World Cup
By Kevin Schulte, London
December 27, 2023, 8:31 p.m
The Darts World Cup in London is a permanent German party for almost two weeks, but after Christmas the euphoria has faded for the time being. Martin Schindler gives the team a 2-0 lead and is eliminated, as is Gabriel Clemens. There are still two German hopes.
It was supposed to be the next German darts holiday at the World Championships in London’s Alexandra Palace, but it turned out to be an afternoon to forget for the two best German darts players. Gabriel Clemens, who sensationally stormed to the semi-finals at the last World Cup, found the double fields better than ever in the game against Dave Chisnall and was clearly eliminated with 1:4 sets. “Germany get battered, everywhere they go,” shouted the spectators, echoing the usual “smashing” rallying cry of English fans towards Scotland. “Germany will be destroyed wherever it goes.”
At this point the game between Dave Chisnall and Gabriel Clemens was almost decided. Because Clemens was able to keep up with the scoring, but failed to hit the double fields, “Chizzy” was quickly ahead 3-0. Clemens at least managed to win a set, but nothing more was possible. Accordingly disappointed, the “German Giant” told Sport1 that he needed time to process it. “It’ll take a while. But it won’t do any good if I cry or scream around here. I’ll let it sink in and pick up darts again next year.” Clemens did not want to give any further interviews after the clear defeat.
For the 40-year-old from Saarland, the exit in the round of 32 is the bitter end of a year with ups and downs. It all started on New Year’s Day with the heroic victory over Gerwyn Price at the last World Cup, and a day later the World Cup fairytale only ended in the semi-finals. This was followed by many disappointments over the course of the year, but also highlights such as reaching the semi-finals of the Players Championship Finals in November or taking part in the semi-finals of the Team World Championships in June together with Martin Schindler.
Schindler gives away a 2-0 lead
That Martin Schindler had just as big plans for this first World Cup day after Christmas. Schindler even went into the game as the favorite against the Englishman Scott Williams and also got off to a perfect start. “The Wall”, as the Brandenburg native was nicknamed, quickly took the lead with 2-0 sets. Schindler seemed determined, his opponent stalked off the stage dissatisfied after his horror start with little chance of reaching the doubles. However, it was a perfect start for the German number two.
Scott Williams is pleased about reaching the round of 16.
(Photo: picture alliance / Action Plus)
After the break, a completely different game suddenly developed. Williams dominated the action, hit the triples much more often and the decisive doubles were usually not a major problem. By the time the score was 2-2 in the sets, Williams had smelled the fuse. The Englishman threw every possible emotion into the game, and the audience did the rest. At the start of the game, the chants for Martin Schindler from the German part of the audience dominated, but after the Williams equalizer, an English acoustic carpet prevailed in the West Hall of Alexandra Palace.
“Approached a bit hastily”
After the last break, the 3,000 darts fans saw the game turn over again. Suddenly it was Williams again who barely threw an arrow into the desired field. Schindler, on the other hand, played great again, like at the beginning of the game. The fifth set went smoothly 3-0 to the German.
But Williams didn’t give up, survived a few critical moments from Schindler and, in turn, hit doubles in important moments. The 33-year-old, nicknamed “Shaggy”, took the sixth round after Schindler missed double 18 despite three chances. “I think I approached these 36 points a bit too hastily. They were all pretty close. But just over is also wrong,” said Schindler when asked by ntv.de about his bitter World Cup exit.
Williams sealed the defeat in the decisive seventh set. When the score was 3:3 in the sets and 2:2 in the legs, the so-called “two-clear leg rule” applied, according to which a player needs a two-leg lead in the decisive round to win the set and thus the match. Williams was the more consistent player in this very final phase, and the majority of the spectators had long been on the Englishman’s side.
“Won two world wars and a World Cup”
When the last dart landed on double 18, it was finally over for the emotionally explosive Williams. He peppered the darts onto the ground and the celebration with the fans and his followers in the VIP area of Alexandra Palace (Williams had a dozen guests in tow for the biggest game of his career to date) could begin.
If it hadn’t been for the obligatory winner’s interview with the broadcaster Sky Sports. Williams – now the new number 37 in the world rankings – chose a rather inappropriate world war comparison: “The game was incredible for the neutral fan. I never had the spectators on my side. I know that we won two world wars and a world championship, but there were so many Germans here. All I could hear were these boys. Oh, what a game!”
The interview was picked up a little later by Sky presenter Emma Paton. She apologized to viewers for Williams’ words. “Scott Williams reached the round of 16 for the first time in his career. He was just a bit happy about it. We have to apologize if you were offended by these words.”
Williams’ statement was also strange because, at the very beginning of his race to catch up, the majority of the audience was on his side and was more likely to get Schindler songs.
Martin Schindler didn’t even notice his opponent’s World War comparison, but he didn’t need to be annoyed by Williams that day. “I don’t hold it against the English fans. It’s a completely normal thing that they support their compatriot when an Englishman plays against a German. It’s no different in Germany. But I’ve always said to myself personally that I’m the fans “I don’t want to encourage more and more booing and whistling. Scott Williams did that today.”
After the double exit of Martin Schindler and Gabriel Clemens, German hopes at the Darts World Cup now rest on Florian Hempel and Ricardo Pietreczko. Both will play tomorrow, Thursday, for a place in the round of 16. Hempel is a clear outsider against the strong Stephen Bunting, and Ricardo Pietreczko also needs a big surprise in the game against top favorite Luke Humphries. Once again there are two games between Germany and England. After this day, the darts motherland leads 2-0.