16 days, 28 sessions, 95 games: around the World Cup in London, darts has once again become the main focus of the public.
The party of the disguised returned despite the Omikron variant, the nine-darter was more common than ever before, but there were greater corona-related worries than ever. And Germany’s top players once again missed the big coup. A look back at the most important darts tournament in the world at Alexandra Palace.
Corona turbulence
Michael van Gerwen, Dave Chisnall, Vincent van der Voort and Raymond van Barneveld: What at first sounds like a World Cup semi-final is actually the list of positive corona cases at the tournament in London. The Dutch van Gerwen and van der Voort as well as England’s Chisnall cost their participation, “Barney” had already been eliminated. The PDC had to take massive criticism of its lax hygiene concept and communicated weakly and thinly during the crisis. The world association never considered canceling it, even if defending champion Gerwyn Price and last year’s finalist Gary Anderson called for it.
Three nine-darters
Price on New Years, Scotland’s William Borland and Lithuania’s Darius Labanauskas well before Christmas. At the World Cup there were three nine-darters for the first time. While Price and Labanauskas were eliminated in the same game, the young Borland managed a real feat: he played the perfect game in the decision leg and thus ended the game against Bradley Brooks from England. This has never happened before.
German ups and downs
The 16-year-old debutant Fabian Schmutzler remained without a win, but Florian Hempel turned it up. The ex-handball player, who went to “Kölsche Jung” von Brings, first defeated his compatriot Martin Schindler and then also world-class professional Dimitri van den Bergh. The end was only in round three against the Australian Raymond Smith. Germany’s number one Gabriel Clemens, who was the first and so far only German round of 16 last year, lost significantly to Welsh Jonny Clayton. The big breakthrough is still missing.
No sherrock storm
Two years ago darts player Fallon Sherrock made it into world news. She was the first woman to defeat two men at the World Cup, making darts history. Since then, the Englishwoman has improved significantly in terms of sport, but it was not enough for another fairy tale in north London. Sherrock lost their first round match against the Englishman Steve Beaton with 2: 3.
Christmas outfit and lots of beer
The extravagant Scot Peter Wright comes in a Christmas outfit with printed balls and candles, the well-known party prevails in the stands. In the second Corona year, despite Omikron, a lot of normality was announced again. Under 3G approval (vaccinated, recovered and negative tested), the “Ally Pally” was able to work at full capacity. While ghost games take place in the fresh air in Germany, England is taking a different course and lets fans into the sports facilities if the regulations are not too strict.
dpa
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Status: 03.01.2022, 11:20 pm