Status: 12/30/2022 10:54 p.m
With a sovereign success over the Scotsman Alan Soutar, Gabriel Clemens moved into the quarter-finals of the Darts World Championship. Now the most difficult of all exams awaits in “Ally Pally”.
Gabriel Clemens wrote German darts history with a dominant performance. The 39-year-old was the first German to reach the World Cup quarter-finals in London with a 4-1 win over Alan Soutar and can now play against the Welsh world number one Gerwyn Price.
The “German Giant”, as Clemens is called, was superior to the weak Scot from the first set and dominated the game against the outsider, who had previously thrown two seeded pros out of the World Cup in Daryl Gurney and Danny Noppert. Even after a brief dip in performance in the second set, Clemens did not lose his self-confidence: “I never thought that I could lose. But when the doubles didn’t come for a moment, it could of course have been tight again.”
Clemens writes darts history
Two years ago, Saarlander Clemens was the first German to reach the round of 16 at the World Cup – and is now the first to reach the round of the 2.5 million pounds (around 2.82 million euros) tournament in Alexandra Palace last eight stands. The duel with the previously flawless muscle man Price, who is one of the big favorites, is now waiting for the New Year. For Darts Germany it will be the biggest match in history.
In the course of the tournament so far, Clemens had defeated Irishman William O’Connor (3:0) and Jim Williams from Wales (4:3). Like Soutar, both were unseeded, but the fireman and guide dog trainer from Scotland was considered the biggest hurdle to date. The 44-year-old completed fire service shifts between his matches in London and is also assigned to New Year’s Eve. When asked when he sleeps at all, Soutar replied: “In January.”
Loud German fans at “Ally Pally”
Loudly cheered on by more than 500 German fans, Clemens started strong. The very first recording brought the maximum score of 180 points – and delighted the colorfully dressed supporters, who, as always, chanted “Oh, how beautiful that is”. Clemens got the first set without any problems.
The game was characterized by many mistakes and was not nearly as entertaining and high-class as the third round duel with Williams, but Clemens had his strong moments again this time. When he mastered a finish at 1-1 in the third set over Bullseye, he cheered exuberantly in the direction of his box for girlfriend Lisa. The fourth sentence turned into a thriller, which Clemens decided to win with nerves of steel. After that, the game was quickly decided.
Next opponent: Primus Price
After three emotional individual successes at the World Championships, which in terms of sport fell into the “compulsory victory” category, Clemens is now faced with the ultimate test. Former rugby pro Price is on form and needs the £500,000 title to remain at the top of the darts world the day after the World Cup final on January 3.
Clemens is looking forward to the task: “Before the tournament started, I read that I might be expected to win a match here. Now I’m not only here for Christmas, but also for the first time for New Year’s Eve, that’s nice. I just look at myself . If I can perform again and be there at the right moments, I think I can be dangerous for Gerwyn Price.”
Smith doesn’t give Cullen a chance
In the all-English duel between number four and number 13 in the world rankings, Michael Smith clearly won 4:1 against Joe Cullen. Smith, who nearly fell to Germany’s Martin Schindler the previous round, played a strong 103.25 average and was also clearly ahead of Cullen with 40 percent on doubles (93.86 and 31 percent).
Cross fails at Dobey
In the first game of the evening session, another co-favorite said goodbye. Rob Cross, who was sixth seeded and still world champion in 2018 after beating Phil Taylor in the final, lost 4-2 in the next all-English duel to Chris Dobey (number 22 on the seeding list), who at times played furiously.
Both players ended up above the 100 average, but Dobey had the better answers in the crucial moments. Among other things, he managed the highest possible finish with a 170 – it was only the third “Big Fish” in the course of this World Cup.
Van Gerwen still very confident
The Dutch top favorite Michael van Gerwen then underpinned his title ambitions. “Mighty Mike” easily defeated compatriot Dirk van Duijvenbode 4:1 and thus continues unchallenged through the most important tournament in the world in his third game. In the quarter-finals on New Year’s Day, van Gerwen will face Chris Dobey.
Van Duijvenbode, who is known as the “Aubergine King” after his job, was rarely able to match van Gerwen’s strong scoring and hardly had a chance at Alexandra Palace.
Source: sportschau.de