Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler were eliminated in the semi-finals of the Darts Team World Championship.
The duo lost 5:8 against the two Scots Peter Wright and Gary Anderson in Frankfurt am Main on Sunday evening and thus missed out on a German team making it into the final for the first time. Clemens/Schindler defeated the top English duo Michael Smith/Rob Cross in the afternoon and caused a big surprise. In the final, which takes place directly afterwards, Scotland plays against Wales (Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton) in front of almost 3000 spectators.
Unexpected victory against England
“I’m fed up with today”, said a visibly annoyed Clemens. Both pros had been sweating heavily on stage in high temperatures, and not only outdoors. Schindler also seemed devastated after another missed opportunity. “Of course we’re not happy because we could have done better. We both missed chances.”said the 26-year-old.
It was the second time a German team had reached the semi-finals of the prestigious major. In 2020 Max Hopp and Clemens made it to the semi-finals, then it was over against Wales. After the successes against Hong Kong (4:0), Japan (4:0) and Poland (8:6) were expected in the past few days, the victory over England came unexpectedly. Smith is the current singles world champion. Cross, Anderson and Wright have already won the coveted World Cup trophy at London’s Alexandra Palace.
“Sometimes an arrow decides”
The first semi-final between Wales and Belgium developed into a gripping duel that was only decided in the deciding leg. In the 15th and last part of the game, Clayton converted the important shot to an 8:7 victory. “Sometimes an arrow decides. They pushed us to the limit”said Price, who jumped wildly on stage and cheered the finale.