tournament in London
Pietreczko confidently at the Darts World Cup – Horvat eliminated
Celebrated a successful start at the Darts World Cup: Ricardo Pietreczko. photo
© Adam Davy/PA Wire/dpa
The first German darts player at the World Cup is out. Dragutin Horvat misses the surprise. But the whiz kid of the season gives hope.
Ricardo Pietreczko confidently reached the second round of the Darts World Cup Reached London. The 29-year-old from Nuremberg clearly defeated the Japanese Mikuru Suzuki 3-0 on Tuesday evening and will now face the Englishman Callan Rydz.
Pietreczko, nicknamed Pikachu, mastered his debut at Alexandra Palace well. The feared boos and whistles from the audience did not materialize; instead, many fans dressed in yellow Pikachu costumes cheered on the German. After a strong year in 2023, Pietreczko is considered one of the secret favorites at the World Cup.
Horvat eliminated
Dragutin Horvat, on the other hand, clearly missed the surprise he was aiming for and was eliminated. The 47-year-old Hesse lost clearly 3-0 against the Belgian Mike De Decker on Tuesday evening and showed a weak performance for long stretches. For Horvat, it was only his second participation in the most important tournament of the year after 2017.
In front of 3,000 spectators, including the dancing ex-footballer Peter Crouch, Horvat made far too many mistakes. De Decker himself played a mixed match, but that was enough for the warehouse clerk, who had to take extra vacation for the tournament at Alexandra Palace. On Sunday, Cologne’s Florian Hempel ensured a top German start to the World Cup with a 3-1 win against Dylan Slevin from Ireland.
In the first game of the evening session on Tuesday, Englishman Steve Beaton prevailed. In his 33rd World Cup participation in a row, the Bronzed Adonis, as Beaton is called, won 3-1 against Wessel Nijman from the Netherlands. Beaton can now challenge Daryl Gurney from Northern Ireland in round two.
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