For the first time in history, four German professionals are in the third round of the Darts World Cup. After Gabriel Clemens, Martin Schindler and Florian Hempel had already made it through to the round of 16, Ricardo Pietreczko followed suit with a narrow 3-2 win against Callan Rydz. Afterwards, “Pikachu” was surprised by his coup.
Completely surprisingly, Ricardo Pietreczko won the German Darts Championship in late summer 2023. With his success in Hildesheim, the previously almost completely unknown Berliner secured a ticket to the World Darts Championships in London’s Ally Pally.
After an easy 3-0 canter in the first round against the Japanese Mikuru Suzuki, another house number awaited the 29-year-old on Saturday afternoon with the Englishman Callan Rydz. But “Pikachu” also had the upper hand against the number 30 seed and won 3-2 in a thrilling match.
Darts World Cup: Ricardo Pietreczko is confident
This means that the self-confessed Hertha BSC football fan can compete in London again after Christmas to play against top favorite Luke Humphries for a place in the round of 16. Pietreczko himself is surprised by this, as he revealed in the “Sport1” interview after the game.
If someone had told him before the season highlight that he would be allowed to compete in the Ally Pally again after Christmas, “I would have flipped him the bird,” he confessed to the TV station. The German darts newcomer now also thinks he has a chance against Humphries.
“When it comes to finishes, I’m one of the best in the world. The statistics say that too. I’m pretty good at high finishes. Humphries is just as much of an opponent on stage as Rydz. I’ll do my best,” said the 39th in the order of Merit confident. Pietreczko “didn’t believe he could establish himself on the tour so quickly two years ago before winning my Tour Card.”