Dhe task is spicy, but the reward is all the more appealing: Gabriel Clemens and Nico Kurz beckoning a duel with the “Grinch” at the Darts World Cup – but for the test of strength with world champion Peter Wright they have to overcome a friend first. The two German hopefuls meet in the legendary Ally Pally in a direct duel, the winner can challenge the Scottish bird of paradise in the third round. “Nico and I have known each other for a long time, we also get along well,” said Clemens from Saarland before the second round match on Monday evening (around 10 p.m. at Sport1 and DAZN) with Hessen Kurz: “But the friendship just has to rest sometimes, and everyone goes about their game. “
For the first time ever, there will be a black-red-gold duel at the season highlight in London and Kurz is not very enthusiastic about it. “It is definitely annoying from a German point of view that two Germans meet in the second round,” said the 23-year-old at DAZN after he kicked former World Cup finalist Andy Hamilton out of the tournament. The role of favorites is clearly assigned. Before the World Cup, Clemens had replaced Max Hopp, who was eliminated in the second round on Saturday, as the German number one. The “German Giant” occupies position 31 in the world rankings, but that doesn’t mean pressure for Clemens. “On the contrary,” said the 37-year-old in an interview with SID, “it’s nice.”
After the Christmas break, the duel with defending champion Wright would be even nicer, who disguised his second round match as the green film character “Grinch” and caused a lot of laughs. Both Clemens and Kurz beckoned the most important game of their careers so far and at the same time a great opportunity. Because a German has never made it into the round of 16 at Alexandra Palace. While Kurz surprisingly reached the third round in his debut last year, Clemens was not yet able to tap his great potential at the World Cup and never got beyond round two. But that should change this year. “If I play well, I can annoy almost anyone in the sport,” said Clemens – whether he is a friend, world champion or “Grinch” he doesn’t care.
Consequences of the corona mutation
Meanwhile, the corona pandemic and travel restrictions for Great Britain imposed by several countries are not without consequences for the tournament. The world association PDC recommended to its players not to leave the island over the Christmas period. A mutated variant of the coronavirus had previously been discovered in the United Kingdom. “We have advised non-UK players to stay at the hotel over Christmas in case of travel restrictions. Most, if not all, will probably do so, ”wrote PDC CEO Matthew Porter on Twitter. Anyone who acts contrary to the recommendation is doing so at “their own risk”.
Various countries, including Germany, stopped transport connections to Great Britain. Train and air traffic in Germany have been interrupted since Monday, initially until December 31. This was ordered by the Federal Ministry of Transport. The World Darts Federation also stopped world number one Michael van Gerwen on his planned trip home to the Netherlands. “Mighty Mike” is said to have already been on the way to the airport with packed bags, as “Die Welt” reported on Monday.
The Dutchman had won his first round match against the Scot Ryan Murray 3-1 on Saturday evening and then wanted to go to his home country for Christmas to celebrate with his wife and children. “Okay, so I’m going to London for Christmas. The new rules today made the decision easy for me. It is difficult to leave the family, but they understand me and encourage me to make this decision, ”wrote three-time world champion van Gerwen. The Darts World Cup 2021 has been running since December 15th at Alexandra Palace in London. As planned, there will be no play over the holidays, the final of the 28th edition will take place on January 3, 2021.
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