Darts Darts
The winless streak at the European Championships continues – Clemens is at a loss
As of: 10:53 a.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
Things haven’t been going well for Gabriel Clemens since the World Cup coup in London
Source: dpa/Zac Goodwin
Darts professional Gabriel Clemens suffers another setback. He had already clearly led against Peter Wright at the European Championships. Martin Schindler is also out and continues his negative streak at the European Championships. Now hopes rest on debutant Pietreczko.
After the bitter knockout against former world champion Peter Wright, Gabriel Clemens was astonished with a statement. When the 40-year-old darts professional was asked about the atmosphere at the European Championships in the Westfalenhalle, Clemens said: “That was really good. It was a full house today, which is fun here. Dortmund is definitely a good place for us.”
The 2,000 spectators cheered Clemens on in the thrilling 5:6 against the always colorfully dressed Wright – but as in the previous year, he was eliminated in the first round of the European Championship in Dortmund. At least in terms of results, Dortmund has not been a good place for Clemens so far. It was also the fourth defeat in the fourth European Championship game of his career.
Martin Schindler has a similar sporting record at the tournament. The man from Strausberg clearly lost his opening match against the Englishman Stephen Bunting 1:6 and, like Clemens, did not manage to win an individual European Championship at the fourth attempt. Bunting is now playing against Chris Dobey.
Peter Wright praises Clemens
When asked whether he could give reasons for the mixed major year since the surprising World Cup semi-finals ten months ago, Clemens seemed a bit perplexed: “No, if you have an idea for me, I would be happy to accept it. There are always strong opponents at majors. I’m a bit lacking in match luck. There’s no need to complain too much. “Put it down again next week and then we’ll continue,” said the “German Giant”.
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Clemens had already led 4-1 against Wright and let that go. “Gabriel forced me to be my best. We already had a breathtaking duel at the World Cup. He was the better one back then. “It’s brilliant for German darts that he exists,” said Wright. In the round of 16 the Scot now faces world champion Michael Smith (England).
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German Darts Championship
Clemens is currently ranked 21st in the rankings, two places ahead of Schindler, who is only around £13,000 behind his friend in the prize money table. “The players I look for are at the top: Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith. Those are the places I want to get to,” Schindler made clear. He has reached two quarterfinals at major major tournaments in 2023.
Schindler saw the fact that he had no chance against Bunting as mainly due to his opponent’s strong performance. “I can’t blame myself for much. Of course I’m annoyed. It’s not nice, but in a game like this you can’t do much about it,” said the German.
The third German starter alongside Clemens and Schindler is Ricardo Pietreczko. The debutant – nicknamed Pikachu – will take part in the tournament on Friday evening in a duel with European champion Ross Smith. Pietreczko recently became only the second German ever to win a tournament on the European Tour when he defeated Wright 8:4 in the final in Hildesheim.
German darts sensation – Pietreczko beats Wright in the final
Darts professional Ricardo Pietreczko became only the second German to ever win a PDC tournament. On his way to a sensational triumph, the 28-year-old beat, among others, two greats of his sport.
