Ricardo Pietreczko from Erlangen sensationally wins the German Darts Championship. “Pikachu” dupes three world champions and secures a historic success that suddenly puts him in the spotlight.
When the last dart found its target in the eight millimeter narrow field of double 16, there was no stopping Hildesheim. As the German fans frenziedly cheered, Ricardo Pietreczko collapsed, fell to the ground on his stomach and hid his face. Darts legend Peter Wright, whom Pietreczko had just sensationally beaten in the final of the German Darts Championship, gave him a fatherly hug and congratulated the 28-year-old on the greatest success of his career.
Pietreczko dupes superstar van Gerwen
In one incredible weekend, Pietreczko threw himself into the world elite of darts. On his way to the final, “Pikachu” – his not entirely voluntary nickname – beat, among others, the top German player Martin Schindler and the former world champions Stephen Bunting and Michael van Gerwen.
“It feels like a dream,” said Pietreczko after his final victory: “I was just happy to have hit the doubles. Next year we’ll have to defend our title.” The two-time world champion Wright took the defeat sportingly and jokingly said to his visibly overwhelmed opponent: “I hope you don’t play as well again at the next tournament.”
Historic success: Erlanger wins pro tournament
His triumph at the German Darts Championship is historic: after Max Hopp in 2018, Pietreczko is only the second German player to win a major event on the PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) Pro Tour. Overnight, the Franconian is now known to everyone in the darts world. That was not always so.
“Pikachu”: From one misunderstanding becomes nickname
And how did he get his nickname? “At a tournament someone called out, ‘Hey, Pietreczko, come here’. Another person understood ‘Pikachu’. Then I couldn’t put the name down,” explained Pietreczko in an interview with the Nürnberger Nachrichten six months ago. Since his start as a professional darts player, his last name has caused complications. So Pietreczko made a virtue out of necessity and made “Pikachu” his official nickname. In the darts world, every professional has a stage name like this, and he has chosen the theme song from the comic series Pokémon as his opening music.
In two months his name and his song will be heard on the biggest stage in the world. Pietreczko qualified for the world championships in the infamous “Ally Pally” in London for the first time. With his victory in Hildesheim, he improved his world ranking from 63 to 53 and can now compete against the best players in the world at the European Darts Championship in October and at the Grand Slam of Darts in November.
From painter to German master
The trained painter has been playing darts since 2010, when he was 16 years old. First as a hobby and then quite quickly with big ambitions. He took part in his first international tournaments in 2014 and won the German individual championship in 2018. For a long time, his rise was linear upwards – until the beginning of this year. Pietreczko had “lost the fun a bit. I had to put up with a lot of defeats.” Losing is generally not his strength, he explained to Sport1: “When I’m eliminated, I leave pretty quickly.”
Change of heart leads to Performance explosion
Last year he had to struggle with the great pressure that every aspiring darts professional feels at the numerous qualifying tournaments across Europe. Pietreczko, who qualified for the Pro Tour together with his long-time friend Daniel Klose from Nuremberg, has a new credo since this year: “I have become calmer, on the board and around it,” he told the Fränkischer Tag in February.
And in March 2023, Pietreczko’s new composure bore fruit: he caused a stir at the European Darts Open. The right-hander made it to the quarter-finals and, like on Sunday in Hildesheim, beat Peter Wright and Stephen Bunting. Through successes like these, he rediscovered his joy and confidence. “I think you can see that when you watch me play.”
German Championship: Pietreczko in a frenzy
In fact, Pietreczko literally threw himself into a frenzy last weekend. He defeated Martin Schindler, 13th in the tournament seeding list, 6-2, and in the quarter-finals he turned a 0-3 defeat against Bunting into a victory with a spectacular comeback. In the semifinals he had a thrilling match with world number two Michael van Gerwen. It was only in the “Decider”, the decisive last game, that Pietreczko won the duel 7:6 and caused the hall in Hildesheim to shake once again.
In the final he gave Peter Wright no chance and amazed his opponent with a perfect rate of 100 percent on the doubles field. The international competition should be warned by his final throw into the double 16 on Sunday evening at the latest. For the World Cup in December, Ricardo Pietreczko showed that he can compete with the greats of this sport.
Pietreczko dupes superstar van Gerwen
In one incredible weekend, Pietreczko threw himself into the world elite of darts. On his way to the final, “Pikachu” – his not entirely voluntary nickname – beat, among others, the top German player Martin Schindler and the former world champions Stephen Bunting and Michael van Gerwen.
“It feels like a dream,” said Pietreczko after his final victory: “I was just happy to have hit the doubles. Next year we’ll have to defend our title.” The two-time world champion Wright took the defeat sportingly and jokingly said to his visibly overwhelmed opponent: “I hope you don’t play as well again at the next tournament.”
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Source: BR24Sport on the radio
October 16, 2023 – 11:55 a.m
