"I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't have liked to get further" - Ricardo Pietreczko nevertheless "satisfied" with World Grand Prix debut

Ricardo Pietreczko seems to be getting back to his old strength after some difficult weeks and months. After Pikachu had to withdraw from his Round of 16 clash against Ross Smith at the Hungarian Darts Trophy due to a hand injury, he put in an impressive performance at the last Players Championship tournament block, winning all his first round matches. After reaching the round of 16 in his World Grand Prix debut, the 29-year-old commented on his performance via Instagram.

"Of course, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't have liked to have got further. Nevertheless, I'm quite happy with my performance and the result," wrote Pietreczko. Pikachu started the tournament on Monday evening with a battling 2-1 win over Raymond van Barneveld. In the duel with world champion Luke Humphries, Pietreczko once again put in a strong performance, but lost 3-1 to the world number one.

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"The match against Luke in particular was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to the next Players Championship tournaments," said the German, confirming his participation in the floor tournaments next week. As Pietreczko is currently ranked 81st in the Players Championship Order of Merit, the last four tournaments of the year will decide his qualification for the Players Championship Finals. "As always, I will give it my all," writes Pietreczko in his post.

Meeting Luke Humphries on the world's biggest stages is slowly but surely becoming a habit for Ricardo Pietreczko. At last year's World Darts Championship, the two opponents had an epic showdown when Pikachu led 3-1 at one point but ultimately conceded a 4-3 comeback to Cool Hand Luke. A few months later, they faced each other again at the second biggest ranking major of the year: At the World Matchplay, Pikachu played big again with a 101 average, but was clearly defeated 10-4.

However, Pietreczko got his revenge in the semi-finals of the Flanders Darts Trophy 2024. With 7-4 and an outstanding 105 average, he came out on top in another top-class duel against Humphries. "Ricardo played a fantastic match, it was a great duel and I really enjoyed it. I love playing Ricardo, we always have epic matches. He's a great lad," Humphries paid tribute to his German opponent to Online Darts after their Round of 16 clash at the World Grand Prix.

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What's next for Pietreczko?

In addition to the aforementioned Players Championship tournaments on October 15 and 16, Pietreczko will return to the European Tour stage the following weekend at the Czech Darts Open. Pikachu will also be in action at the next PDC Major, the European Darts Championship in Dortmund.

As previously mentioned, the German still has to make it into the top 64 of the Players Championship Order of Merit in order to be allowed to compete in the World Championship dress rehearsal in Minehead. There is currently a good chance that Pietreczko will travel to the World Championship in London as a seeded player. He will also have the chance to qualify for the prestigious tournament in Wolverhampton at the Grand Slam Qualifier on November 1.