The German fans have far more staying power at the Darts World Cup than their dart throwers on stage. On Monday afternoon, Ricardo Pietreczko was the last of six German participants to be eliminated – despite the passionate support of the audience once again. He clearly failed in the round of 16 against the favored Englishman Nathan Aspinall 0:4 after sets. The 30-year-old delivered his weakest performance of the tournament and never found his way into the game. It “just wasn’t my day,” said Pietreczko. Hit precisely, unlike his arrows before.
Pietreczko only achieved an average of 78.46 points, just slightly more than Stephen Burton achieved in the first round, when he only achieved a so-called average of 75.63 points, the negative value at this World Cup. The decision in the match came in the third set at the latest, when Aspinall gave his opponent the chance to get closer after a few mistakes on the doubles courts. But Pietreczko missed double 20 again and his rate of hitting the outfield was only 29 percent. Aspinall took advantage of this weakness and won this round too – by spectacularly checking the double 10 from a complicated side angle.
:The whistles of the German fans
In a hall where everyone is already going overboard, the second largest group of spectators is particularly noticeable: the disgraceful behavior of German fans in the Ally Pally.
Before the game, the long-time top German player Max Hopp had speculated in an interview with SZ that Pietreczko’s “momentum” could be that he made a “relaxed impression”, was in a good mood and felt like he was in here London probably, says Hopp. And Pietreczko actually seemed that way. When he entered the Ally Pally through a back entrance, he beamed, similar to how he later walked on stage. Although he is privately reserved, he recently blossomed during the World Cup weeks. The Berlin native, who grew up in Nuremberg, knows how to use the stage for himself, says Hopp.
Pietreczko leads at the start of the game – the Ally Pally is cooking
Not a rare phenomenon among athletes: they take on a role in competition. For Pietreczko it is the fictional character Pikachu, under which he appears in darts, which is why many German fans in the audience dressed up as Pikachus. And they roared ahead of the Germans like they rarely did in the West Hall, it probably wasn’t because of the fans. After Pietreczko won the first leg at the start of the game, the Ally Pally was boiling.
The atmosphere will be electric, with Aspinall predicting that the Ally Pally will be more like the stadium atmosphere at a football match between England and Germany. The Englishman wasn’t so wrong because his compatriots opposed it acoustically. Shortly before the start of the game, both turned to the fans together and, with their arms outstretched, intoned the pop classic “Mr. Brightside” by the US band The Killers. But only one person showed the so-called killer instinct at the top of the stage.
The sympathies in the hall were almost evenly distributed, at least the first set was still fairly on par. Pietreczko initially got off to a better start and even had two break chances to reach double 20 in the second leg, which he surprisingly missed given his previous World Cup precision. Aspinall stuck out his tongue in relief and secured the first set when the German threw in. The tone was set.
Pietreczko seemed impressed by the set deficit; it was his first in his fourth appearance at this World Cup. He then had to give up the second round without winning a leg; neither his scoring value with three throws nor his balance on the double fields corresponded to his normal level. Aspinall acknowledged his opponent’s problems with a pout and a shrug of the shoulders; he had probably expected much more resistance. The twelfth in the world rankings managed his lead solidly without shining with consistently high points. He benefited from the fact that Pietreczko was struggling more with himself than with the match. He also delivered the third sentence, again without setting any accents.
The 30-year-old briefly lost his temper when he only managed 41 points with three darts. In response, he bowed ironically to the audience. The English reacted mockingly, all normal behavior in these halls. At least Pietreczko managed to win his second leg in the fourth and final set. However, Aspinall immediately stopped the upswing by taking the lead again with two precise throws into double 20. The German applauded approvingly in the background. Shortly afterwards, Aspinall ended the match with a throw to double ten.
This means that German observers have to continue to wait for their first darts world champion. The German players will come back next year. Their fans, however, are likely to stay for a while – because the wild party in the Ally Pally is rushing towards its climax on January 3rd, when it means: final
#Darts #World #Cup_ #Pietreczko #eliminated #chance #Aspinall
