The fans in the well-attended Halle39 in Hildesheim got to see the best players in the world at the German Darts Championship on Saturday. With Max Hopp one of the five German players in round two also made it into the last sixteen.
In the second round of the tournament, the 16 winners of the first round traditionally compete against the top 16 seeded players of the Pro Tour ranking on Friday. Four of the qualifiers managed to defeat the higher ranked players. Among them was Max Hopp. The “Maximiser” won his second round match against number 2 seed Ian White 6-4. “I knew it was going to be a tough match. I was very nervous in the decisive moments and still managed to stay focused,” said Hopp, who benefited both from the home crowd and the fact that his opponent only hit four out of 14 attemots on the doubles. On tomorrow’s final day in the round of the last sixteen, Hopp will first play against Danny Noppert from the Netherlands, who also knocked a seeded player out of the tournament in his 6-2 victory over Adrian Lewis.
The four other German players Lukas Wenig (6-0 against Dave Chisnall), Gabriel Clemens (6-1 against Daryl Gurney), Dragutin Horvat (6-2 against Nathan Aspinall) and Nico Kurz (6-2 against James Wade) were eliminated in the second round of the tournament, in which 140,000 pounds of prize money are up for grabs.
World number one Michael van Gerwen showed no signs of confirming critics who recently attributed him a form crisis. “Mighty Mike” won 6:2 against Steve Lennon from Ireland and afterwards made it clear: “I feel good on the board and I am glad that the European Tour is back. Of course I want the title by all means”.
One of his fiercest rivals is probably the current world champion and crowd favorite Peter Wright, who played the highest average of the day with 107 in his 6:3 victory over Michael Smith. “I have missed my German fans very much and am looking forward to tomorrow when I can play in front of this great audience again.”
However, the best atmosphere of the evening was provided by the South African Devon Petersen. With a score of 1:5 against title favorite Gerwyn Price, the game seemed to be lost from the perspective of the “African Warrior”. But Petersen fought his way back into the game and into the hearts of the Hildesheim audience at the same time. In the end there were standing ovations for his 6:5 success. “I simply waited for my chance and knew that I was going to take it when it came,” the overjoyed winner said afterwards. “I have worked hard on my game – this is the new Devon Petersen.”
The results of the day in the overview:
SESSION 3
Dave Chisnall 6:0 Lukas Wenig
Jermaine Wattimena 2:6 Mervyn King
Adrian Lewis 2:6 Danny Noppert
Daryl Gurney 6:1 Gabriel Clemens
Nathan Aspinall 6:2 Dragutin Horvat
Glen Durrant 6:3 Scott Waites
Rob Cross 6:3 William O’Connor
SESSION 4
Jonny Clayton 6:4 Chris Dobey
Ian White 4:6 Max Hopp
Scale Suljovic 6:4 Jeff Smith
Michael van Gerwen 6:2 Steve Lennon
Peter Wright 6:3 Michael Smith
Krzysztof Ratajski 6:2 Richard North
Gerwyn Price 5:6 Devon Petersen
Joe Cullen 4:6 Adam Hunt
James Wade 6:2 Nico Kurz
This will result in the following pairings for tomorrow’s afternoon session starting at 1 p.m., before the tournament winner is determined in the evening:
SESSION 5 (1 – 5 p.m.)
Michael van Gerwen – Mervyn King
Scale Suljovic – James Wade
Peter Wright – Jonny Clayton
Dave Chisnall – Nathan Aspinall
Max Hopp – Danny Noppert
Daryl Gurney – Glen Durrant
Devon Petersen – Rob Cross
Krzysztof Ratajski – Joe Cullen
SESSION 6 (7 – 11 p.m.)
Quarter-finals, semi-finals and final
