Debutant Ricardo Pietreczko was the last German player to be eliminated from the Darts World Cup after a thriller.
The man from Nuremberg, nicknamed “Pikachu”, brought the top English favorite Luke Humphries to the brink of defeat, but ultimately had to admit defeat 3-4 in the atmospheric Alexandra Palace in London.
“99 percent of the spectators were against me, that was incredibly hard. I was almost out and came back,” said Humphries on Sky Sports.
“It was 3-1 for me, that’s very, very annoying. The crowd was on my side too much, the whistle was blown too often when Luke threw. I don’t like that, it’s just not right,” Pietreczko explained on ” DAZN” microphone.
The German high-flying campaign on the island ended on a sobering note. Previously, Florian Hempel was also eliminated in the third round due to a 4-0 defeat against Stephen Bunting – like Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler on Wednesday.
There had never been a German quartet in the third round of a World Cup before.
Pietreczko was close to becoming only the second German player after Clemens to reach the round of the last 16 of a World Cup.
The 29-year-old played himself into a frenzy against Humphries after winning his first set. However, when the score was 1:3, his English opponent recovered and gradually found his way back to his old strength.
Darts World Cup: Big problems for “Cool Hand” Humphries
Previously, Humphries, who has won three of the last four major tournaments, seemed to buckle under the pressure of the top favorite.
“Cool Hand” changed his flights and kept shaking his head. Pietreczko, on the other hand, got stronger and stronger before the tide turned again in the fifth set. The German hopeful was no longer able to score.
Hempel had no chance in the afternoon – despite a decent performance. “If the timing isn’t right, it’s difficult,” said the Cologne native on “Sport1”. “It was a great game, very intense up there on stage. But losing so clearly is tough. I take Bunting’s words of praise afterwards as a positive thing.”
“Gaga” Clemens is already looking forward again
The former handball goalkeeper managed a 164 finish to the cheers of many German fans, but he still lost the first set. He was good, Bunting was better: the Englishman scored an average of more than 100 points with three darts and only opened a small door back into the match for Hempel. But Hempel missed his opportunity in the fourth set.
Clemens was already thinking positively again the day after his crash landing against Dave Chisnall (1:4). On Instagram, the “German Giant” presented his 263,000 followers with a bracelet with the words “Giving up is not an option” and accompanied the short clip with the song “Never Give Up” by Australian pop star Sia.