Florian Hempel was completely overwhelmed. When the 33-year-old from Cologne left the biggest darts stage after his memorable comeback, he first picked up his cell phone and rang his home phone.
“Lick me en de Täsch,” Hempel shouted to his loved ones in the video after the World Cup madness in London. With, among other things, two ten-darters in a row, the German had turned a 0-2 deficit against world-class professional Dimitri van den Bergh. He had already thrown the Belgian out of the tournament at the World Cup two years ago, even then as an outsider.
“Never lose faith in yourself”
“I’ve already celebrated one or two comebacks. You can never lose faith in yourself. The emotions are significantly higher than two years ago. It’s emotionally great,” said Hempel, who used to be a handball goalkeeper and is now one of the German elite players on the target. He only bought his World Cup ticket at the last minute.
Hempel’s third round opponent after Christmas will be determined on Saturday (10 p.m./Sport1 and DAZN) between Stephen Bunting and Ryan Joyce (both England). After he had problems traveling home by car last time, Hempel wants to get to Cologne differently this time. He is considering flying home from Heathrow Airport and leaving the car in the British capital over Christmas. The third round begins on December 27th.
