Hopp annoyed by increasing hate on social media: 'Especially when family is getting involved it's disgusting'
PDC
Max Hopp has been out of action on the PDC circuit for a month now after missing out on the last two European Tour tournaments. Last Friday, 'The Maximiser' did attend an exhibition in Kiel with Gerwyn Price, Phil Taylor, Jonny Clayton and Fallon Sherrock.
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The German considered the event a welcome practice towards the final tournaments of the season. "It is a form of training that is very demanding. You never know who you are playing against on such a night and you have almost the same conditions as in a normal tournament. Exhibitions are a good opportunity for players to stay in rhythm. Especially if you don't manage to qualify for certain tournaments'', he explained in an interview with Dartsnews.de.
Also, in recent months, Hopp has worked several times as a pundit for the German channel DAZN and can regularly be found in the Netherlands for practice sessions with Maik Kuivenhoven and Jeffrey de Zwaan.
''Occasionally also with van Duijvenbode and Raymond van Barneveld'', Hopp revealed, ''They all live within a 15 km radius. Amazing, what quality in a concentrated space. In Germany, I like to train with the young talent Niko Springer.''
During these joint practice sessions, the emphasis is on the big scores. "We start with 3001 double out, best of 3. The goal is to finish in 30 turns.'' Finishing also comes up regularly. ''I mainly do that when I am practicing alone. When you are with others, you are more in the flow of the game and you play match after match."
Tour Card
Hopp can put the practice sessions to good use as the former world youth champion is in danger of losing his Tour Card after this season. In the current world rankings, he is 67th, while he needs a spot in the top 64. Hopp has not given up hope yet.
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"It will be difficult, but not impossible'', he said, assessing the situation realistically. What he will do if he fails to defend it, he will only decide after knowing his fate.
Social media
Finally, Hopp expressed his annoyance at some of the comments that come up on social media. "To this day, I don't understand what it gets people to insult and criticise others. It is especially disgusting when family members are brought in for no reason. Live and let live. Everyone should do things they like.''
I stumbled into the world of darts quite by accident back in 2013. For a Journalism School assignment, I had to produce a live sports report and as it happened, the European Tour event in Veldhoven was the only available option. That weekend, I caught the darts bug. The post-match interviews especially appealed to me, as darts players tend to be much more open and approachable than what you usually see with footballers on television.
After a few detours, I joined Dartsnieuws.com in 2017 as editor-in-chief. I don’t have much competitive experience myself, although I once entered a PDC Development Tour weekend just to experience what it’s like from a player’s perspective. I even managed to win a leg against a Tour Card holder and, quite by accident, earned £50 in prize money.
In 2022, I was also involved in the founding of the TOTO Dart Kings, a commercial darts team, where I worked as media manager for three years. Unfortunately, due to new legislation in the Netherlands, that project came to an end in 2025.
Through my work in darts, I’ve been fortunate to travel to some incredible events, from Premier League nights at Ahoy Rotterdam, to several World Championships, and even the US Darts Masters at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Beyond darts, I’m a passionate sports fan in general. You can always wake me up for a game of tennis or padel, and I love following football, tennis, padel, cycling, Formula 1, and ice skating.
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- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
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