The Darts World Championship in London is entering the home stretch. The last games of 2022 are scheduled for Friday (1.30 p.m. and 8 p.m./Sport1 and DAZN), and there is a break on New Year’s Eve. On the program are the six remaining round of 16. Gabriel Clemens can provide a historic World Cup moment for Germany.
Clemens can write history
The 39-year-old from Saarland plays against Scotland outsider Alan Soutar in the afternoon (3:00 p.m.). Clemens is a slight favorite and could be the first German to reach the World Cup quarterfinals. So far, the “German Giant” has won against Irishman William O’Connor (3-0) and Welshman Jim Williams (4-3). But fireman Soutar is also strong, defeating two seeded players in Daryl Gurney from Northern Ireland and Dutchman Danny Nopper.
Emotional duel of the Dutch
Michael van Gerwen against Dirk van Duijvenbode: The Dutch duel in the evening (9.30 p.m.) is promising – and could become emotional. Van Duijvenbode, whose nickname is “Aubergine King” because of his part-time job, is considered to be particularly passionate on the big stages and also celebrated the 4-3 win against England’s European champion Ross Smith with a celebratory dance on Thursday. In terms of sport, van Gerwen, who has acted confidently so far, is clearly the favourite.
Big test for favorite Smith
In the narrow 4:3 victory over Martin Schindler, the English World Cup finalist Michael Smith was almost kicked out of the tournament after being down 1:3. The “Bully Boy”, as Smith is called, needs a significant improvement on Friday (4:15 p.m.) to get back into the quarter-finals. Because compatriot Joe Cullen is the next opponent in excellent form, as he recently proved in the 4-0 win over Australian Damon Heta.
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