"I have no vacation, no leave" - Dragutin Horvat must have firm word with boss after qualifying for World Darts Championship
PDCSaturday, 11 November 2023 at 11:00
Dragutin Horvat managed to qualify for the World Darts Championship on Friday night at the PDC Europe Super League. He defeated Pascal Rupprecht 8-3 in the final of the qualifying tournament.
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The excitement was soon gone in the final. Horvat grabbed a 5-1 lead and threw out 115 moments later to take the lead to 7-3. He then needed just one more leg to grab the final victory.
"The 115 was important. I've never thrown it like that before. But it doesn't matter. I showed that an old hand like me can still take on the youngsters."
The man from Kassel also had words of praise for his opponent Rupprecht. "Congratulations Pascal. Unfortunately, he lost the final. Pascal deserved it as much as anyone else. I was lucky and privileged to win this and fly to London to represent the German colours at the World Championships."
For Horvat, it will be his second participation at Alexandra Palace. He is sure that his current participation will be very different from his first. "I will enjoy it this time. I wasn't doing that last time because it was so exciting, everything was new then. I couldn't enjoy it. And this time I'm just going to watch it and just play."
The 47-year-old German is just not sure yet if he will be allowed to compete. ''I have to talk to my boss at work first. I have no vacation, no leave. Maybe I won't even be allowed to go to London, I don't know...," he concludes.
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Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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