"Hats off to Dave! It was a great match" - Ricardo Pietreczko gracious in defeat after Flanders Darts Trophy final

Ricardo Pietreczko couldn't quite lift a European Tour title for the second time in his career on Sunday night. 'Pikachu' was on a great run in Antwerp, but eventually went down 8-6 against Dave Chisnall in the final of the 2024 Flanders Darts Trophy.

Pietreczko, who who previously lifted the title at last year's German Darts Championship and recorded his first tournament victory on the European Tour, impressed on his way to the final of the Flanders Darts Trophy. On the final day he beat Dirk van Duijvenbode in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals he faced reigning world champion Luke Humphries. The 29-year-old German showed that he was not afraid of Humphries, averaged almost 105 and sent the Englishman home 7-4. In the final, he even achieved a slightly higher average than Chisnall, yet it was the Englishman who narrowly won.

"Thank you for your great support," Pietreczko reflected afterwards via Facebook. "My second final on the European Tour, what an experience. After my victory last year at the German Darts Championship, however, I had to lose this time against Dave Chisnall. Hats off to Dave! It was a great match, thanks for that. But I don't want to dwell on this for too long, I'm already looking forward to the next challenges!"

Those next challenges, by the way, are coming soon. On Sept. 17 and 18, Pietreczko will be in action at Players Championships 20 and 21. A few days later, he heads to Budapest to compete at the Hungarian Darts Trophy, the 11th tournament on the European Tour this year.

Also notable, is the fact that Pietreczko climbs two places in the PDC Order of Merit thanks to this final run in Belgium, diving into the world's top 32 at position 31. After a somewhat inconsistent year, the German will now be hoping this can kick-start some positive momentum.