Gabriel Clemens lived up to his role as a favorite in his opening match at the Darts World Cup in London’s Alexandra Palace and is the second German player in the third round. With his sovereign 3-0 win against outsider Lewy Williams, he succeeded Florian Hempel, who sensationally beat world number five Dimitri van den Bergh on Tuesday.
“We were both nervous and really didn’t play well. I’m the luckier one and in the end I won,” said Clemens at Sport1: “I felt good and I know that I was well prepared. There was actually no reason to to be nervous. ” In the fight for a place in the round of the best 16, Clemens will meet the Welsh top player Jonny Clayton on Monday evening (8 p.m. / Sport1 and DAZN). In the first round, the 38-year-old, who last year was the first German to reach the last sixteen, had a bye as a top 32 player.
Clemens got off to a good start against a weak Williams and secured the first set after a few minutes with a smooth 3-0. Thanks to a strong double quota, he had his opponent under control despite a moderate scoring and secured the decisive 2-0 lead in the decision-making leg. Hempel had surprisingly reached the third round on Tuesday with a 3-1 win against Belgian van den Bergh. This means that the 31-year-old has the chance to make it into the round of 16 against Raymond Smith (Australia) on Monday afternoon (4 p.m.) at his first World Cup.
Rob Cross throws van Barneveld out
Rob Cross, meanwhile, won the clash between the ex-world champions and threw Raymond van Barneveld out of the tournament. The 31-year-old Englishman prevailed 3-1 in a high-class match against his rival from the Netherlands on Thursday evening and will now face Northern Irish Daryl Gurney in round three.
Two ex-world champions: Rob Cross (left) is still in the tournament, Raymond van Barneveld is out.
(Foto: Luke Walker/Getty Images)
Cross had won the world title against record champion Phil Taylor on his debut in 2018. Van Barneveld’s five trophies (1998, 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007) at the most important tournament in the world are a long way behind. After retiring in December 2019, the 54-year-old returned to the tour just a year ago.
In the afternoon, the seeded Austrian Mensur Suljovic had already said goodbye. The veteran lost 3-2 to Scottish Alan Soutar after leading 2-0 and forgetting several match darts. The Portuguese José de Sousa prevailed 3-2 against the Englishman Jason Lowe. The third round begins on December 27th. Then even seasoned professionals can compete against each other. The finals at Alexandra Palace will take place on January 3rd.
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