Debutant Florian Hempel (Cologne) caused a sensation at the Darts World Cup in London. In the second round, the 31-year-old from Cologne surprisingly beat the number five seeded Belgian Dimitri Van den Bergh 3-1 at the Alexandra Palace. On Monday, after Christmas on the island, Hempel meets Devon Petersen (South Africa) or Raymond Smith (Australia).
Hempel, who had eliminated Martin Schindler (Strausberg) in the German duel at the start of the tournament, started strong. The newcomer hit the double fields with a high percentage and got set one with a break.
Van den Bergh (27), World Matchplay Champion 2020, struck back unimpressed and won the second round 3-0. But Hempel put away the setback, continued to play excellently and used his first match dart.
This means that two out of four Germans are still in the tournament – Hempel and Gabriel Clemens (Saarwellingen / 38), who made it to the round of 16 a year ago and will start on December 23rd.