INTERVIEW | "I'm going to the World Championship to win it" - Ricardo Pietreczko raring to go for Ally Pally title tilt
PDC
After a spectacular World Championship debut last year, Ricardo Pietreczko will return to the Ally Pally as one of the German hopefuls at the 2025 World Darts Championship.
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Media representatives such as Dartsnews.com had the opportunity to interview the 30-year-old at a PDC Europe press conference in the run-up to the World Championship. Pietreczko summed up his past season, spoke about his hand injury and formulated an ambitious World Championship goal;
"Stage good, floor poor" - this is Pietreczko's assessment of the past 12 months, in which he impressed several times at the Major tournaments, but was hardly able to celebrate any successes at the floor events of the Players Championship Series. "I actually don't know what the difference in my performance is because I always play the same," says Pikachu.
Despite a mixed year on the PDC circuit, the German is full of self-confidence heading to the Ally Pally: "I always say that I go to a tournament to win it - the same applies to the World Championship. If I set myself the goal of maybe reaching the third round and then bowing out, then I don't even need to go there." On his way to the big dream of winning the World Championship title, Pikachu wants to benefit from the experience of his World Championship debut last year. "I'll probably be a bit more relaxed and not as extremely nervous as last year. Of course, I'm expecting some German fans again, so I want to perform," says Pietreczko ambitiously.
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The German also delivered a spectacular performance at last year's World Darts Championship, when he came close to defeating the eventual world champion Luke Humphries at 3-1 in the sets. "I always jokingly say that I would have been world champion if I had won that match. But of course it's a career boost when you almost beat Luke Humphries at the World Championships. It gave me a real boost, which you could see from the fact that I went straight through to the semi-finals at the first European Tour event of the season."
One set away from a sensation: Pietreczko was just three legs short of beating Humphries at the 2024 World Championships
Pietreczko will open his World Championship campaign this year in the evening session on December 17. To kick things off, Pikachu will face the Chinese qualifier Xiaochen Zong. "I believe that no player should be underestimated at the World Championship because all participants have earned their qualification. But normally this task shouldn't be too much of a problem, so I can already look ahead," says the 30-year-old.
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In a possible second round match on December 23, Pietreczko would face one of the hottest stocks on the PDC Pro Tour, Gian van Veen. For large parts of last year, Pietreczko was among the top 32 on the Order of Merit and would therefore have started the World Championship as a seeded player in round two. However, the surprising Major performances of players such as Ritchie Edhouse, Martin Lukeman and Mike De Decker, among others, saw the German slip to 34th place. "But I quickly put that behind me and am no longer concerned with it," Pikachu clarifies;
Instead of dwelling on the past, Pietreczko prefers to focus on preparing for his second PDC World Championship in the present. "Basically, I'm practising more than ever before and playing a lot of tournaments on my Scolia, but I don't have a fixed plan or rhythm for it. Today I got up and played a bit of Grand Turismo on my Playstation. If I feel like it, I'll go straight to the board, if not, I'll play a bit more," says a relaxed Pietreczko, who is also relying on an unusual schedule this year: "Shortly before the World Championship, I'm taking part in a major soft-tip tournament near Frankfurt. I'll be playing there on December 13 and 14 and then my flight to England leaves on the 15th. That worked well last year with the exact same tournament, so I'm doing it again," explains Pietreczko, who is known for his hard work and participation in regional and national tournaments.
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Even Pietreczko's injury worries, which put him out of action towards the end of the last European Tour season and forced the German to give up his round of 16 match against Ross Smith at the Hungarian Darts Trophy, will not disrupt Pikachu's training and tournament schedule: "Experts looked at the injury, but couldn't find out where the pain came from either. In any case, everything is fine now."
The dream of the World Cup of Darts
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During the press conference, Pietreczko not only spoke about the upcoming World Championship, but also looked ahead to the 2025 season. As Gabriel Clemens has 100,000 pounds in prize money to defend at this year's World Championship, there could be a changing of the guard in the German team at the World Cup of Darts 2025. According to the Live Order of Merit, which already takes into account the loss of prize money from the 2025 World Cup of Darts, Pietreczko would overtake Clemens to become the new German number two and compete in the PDC World Team Championship together with Martin Schindler: "I actually have that in the back of my mind a bit because my goal is to play the World Cup of Darts once. Forming a team with Martin, who like me comes from Berlin and the surrounding area, would be quite something."
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
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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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