Ricardo Pietreczko received the greatest compliment from his opponent. The Englishman Scott Williams, who is one of the more controversial types in the darts scene, formed his thumb and index finger into a circle in appreciation and congratulated Pietreczko on his victory. He reinforced his gesture by giving her a kiss. Williams wanted to symbolize how excellent his opponent’s performance was. In fact, Pietreczko delivered one of the best performances ever achieved by a German player at London’s Alexandra Palace. He rounded off his first match dart with a brilliant combination: He set the remaining value “121” to 0 – with arrows into the bull’s eye, into the triple 13 and double 16.
With the 4-1 win against Williams after sets, Pietreczko is in the round of 16 of the World Cup for the first time in his career. From a German perspective, only Gabriel Clemens had made it this far in the tournament; he made it to the semi-finals two years ago. For Pietreczko it is clearly the greatest success of his career. Although he already won his first professional title at the German Darts Championship in the previous season, progressing at the highlight of the year would be “ranked higher than anything else,” he said. The world number 34. will improve a few positions after the World Cup. In any case, he replaces Clemens as the second best German in the ranking. This guarantees him, together with his leading compatriot Martin Schindler, participation in the World Cup of Darts, a prestigious national competition in which the two best national players compete in the team.
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At the last World Cup, Pietreczko was already well on his way to causing a stir. At that time he had future world champion Luke Humphries on the verge of defeat in the same round, he was leading 3-1, but then lost three sets in a row and thus the game. Pietreczko reported on Saturday afternoon that he had become “nervous” at the time, and this experience benefited him this time. With the score at 2-1 after Williams had just shortened the score, the 30-year-old came up trumps with a strong set. His average score per throw was an enormous 118, and in the end he threw the “129” with a crash over the bull’s eye. “I thought to myself: Screw it, I’ll do it!” said Pietreczko. His gaze kept going to his girlfriend in the audience.
With his carefree nature, Pietreczko fits perfectly into the atmosphere at Ally Pally
You can’t do darts without self-confidence and strong nerves. In addition, Pietreczko has a playful lightness that is difficult to learn. He wants to offer the audience something, he explains his sometimes daring style of playing. Once he tried to complete the “120” spectacularly against Williams with three throws into double 20. He explained that he was keen on this variant. You can tell on stage how “cool” he thinks it is that he earns money with his hobby.
Like last year, Pietreczko is the last German in the competition, despite a total of six starters this time. The trained painter and varnisher is the German splash of color at the World Cup. His jersey, designed in black, red and gold, looks as artistic as if it were created by Pablo Picasso. His darts are also in the same colors. He throws them in the order of the German national flag, first the black arrow, then the red and finally the gold. As an explanation, he announced a few years ago that he had thought about what a German player could do to have “an identifying feature”. In this way, his appearance stands out from his colleagues.
From the pool of his compatriots, with his bright and carefree nature, he seems to fit best into the unconventional atmosphere at Ally Pally. Darts aficionados love guys like him – and Pietreczko, in turn, thrives in the party paradise. “Oh, how beautiful that is,” roared the German pack when it became apparent that their favorite would prevail on Saturday. Hearing this evergreen in England was “something special,” said Pietreczko happily. He raves about the atmospheric arcades like Pokémon fans love the fantasy creature Pikachu. That’s what Pietreczko calls himself in darts; from his point of view, the stage name Pikachu is more memorable and common than his own. The audience helped him, the atmosphere against Williams was brilliant, praised Pietreczko. He is a “player dependent on the day’s form” and darts is a “head game”. In smaller competitions, however, he “cannot perform as well”.
After the match, TV presenter Elton met him backstage. The meeting was nice, emphasized Pietreczko. He didn’t know Elton, but he immediately invited him to his next game. On Monday, Pietreczko will face twelfth-seeded Nathan Aspinall. The Englishman is certain that there will be a “football atmosphere” in the Ally Pally. A win could lead to a New Year’s clash between Pietreczko and tournament favorite Luke Littler. When it comes to throwing statistics, Ricardo Pietreczko is at about the same level as the world’s best. His average against Williams was an impressive 97, the rate on double fields was 52 percent. Pietreczko says he can beat anyone. In response to Williams’ tribute, he clasped his hands and thanked him.
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