Kyle Anderson passed away at the age of 33 – he was very popular on the PDC tour
Source: dpa / Steven Paston
The tragic death of Kyle Anderson rocked the darts community almost two weeks ago. His compatriots from Australia are now also competing for him at the Team World Cup. After the last game of the evening it gets emotional.
NAfter the decisive darts on double 20 of his partner Simon Whitlock, Damon Heta said goodbye to the hopelessly defeated opponents from Italy, only to turn to the 900 spectators in Jena a few moments later and form a heart. It was thanks for the minute-long choirs that the audience started for the Australian Kyle Anderson, who died far too early just under two weeks ago at the age of 33.
“The audience says it all,” a visibly relaxed Simon Whitlock had to say in an interview with Sky Sports. The 52-year-old played four times at the World Cup at the side of Anderson – the last time in 2019. Now he presented himself in good form at the Team World Cup at the side of Damon Heta, the completely safe 5-0 in the first round, which was exclusively is played in doubles, however, became a minor matter.
Even during the game, the Australian duo remembered their deceased compatriot with a lettering on the left sleeve of their jerseys. “We not only play for Australia, we also play for Kyle,” said Whitlock, who, like his partner, patted himself several times on the arm with the special message.
Heta collects donations from survivors
The loss of Kyle Anderson weighs heavily on Heta. The two were friends for many years and even went to school together. “We dreamed that one day we would play together in the World Cup and I think this time we did it together,” said Heta after the game.
Damon Heta went to school with Anderson. After his death, he raised funds for his family
Quelle: pa/Beautiful Spo/Orange Pictures
Mentally he felt drained, Heta let through before the start of the tournament. In particular, the performance on the European Tour at the weekend in Budapest was difficult for him. Nevertheless, “The Heat” reached the third round and was only eliminated from the eventual winner and current world champion Gerwyn Price.
This time it should go on for Heta despite all the emotionality. “The hunger is there,” said Heta at the press conference after the game. “For Australia and of course for Kyle too.” After Anderson’s death, Heta collected donations for the family, the extremely popular Australian leaves two sons, Charles and Marcus. In order to spend more time with them, “The Original” gave back its tour card at the beginning of the year and stayed at home.
Favorites prevail
In terms of sport, Thursday did not offer any surprises. The favorites from Scotland and the Netherlands as well as defending champion Wales from the lower half of the tournament, which is to be assessed more strongly, solved their compulsory tasks with ease. The World Cup is an important event, especially for Dutch number one Michael van Gerwen. The former world number one is still waiting for the first tournament victory of the year, recently had to watch the world leaders move closer and closer together.
Van Gerwen started alongside his new partner Dirk van Duijvenbode with an easy 5-1 win against Denmark. Last year he failed with Danny Noppert in the quarter-finals at the German duo, but had to contend with a rib injury at the time. “This year I’m his injury,” joked van Duijvenbode at the press conference that followed.
Van Gerwen now against the crowd favorite
On Saturday the duel with crowd favorite Paul Lim from Singapore awaits in the second round, who with his partner Harith Lim – the two are not related – defeated the even lesser known duo from Gibraltar 5-4. For the 67-year-old, it was the return to the big World Cup stage after a year of abstinence after he could not travel to Salzburg last year due to the Corona travel restrictions.
“I was already in Hong Kong, booked my ticket, but the Singapore government interfered. That was very unfortunate, “said the” Singapore Slinger “after the tremendous game in which he and his partner threw 18 darts past the doubles. However, that didn’t bother him for a long time. When asked about a possible duel with van Gerwen, Lim explained with a wink: “I’ll play first. If Van Gerwen wants to get out of my way, please. “
The three-time world champion replied promptly: “Paul did a lot for the sport, especially in Asia. But I always play first, otherwise I would show weakness. ”The 32-year-old Dutchman is the clear favorite in the duel of the generations. However, it remains to be seen who will be supported by the fair Jena audience on Saturday. Both Paul Lim and Michael van Gerwen were celebrated accordingly with their victories. The German team will start the tournament with Max Hopp and Gabriel Clemens on Friday.
The 1st round
Hungary – Lithuania 3: 5
Czech Republic 2-5 Poland
Gibraltar – Singapore 4: 5
USA – Sweden 5-1
Scotland (6) – China 5-0
Netherlands (3) – Denmark 5-1
Wales (2) – Finland 5-2
Australia (7) – Italy 5-0
Russia – Japan
Spain – South Africa
Ireland – Portugal
Austria – Philippines
Northern Ireland (5) – Hong Kong
Germany (8) – Canada
England (1) – Brazil
Belgium (4) – Greece
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