Polish darter returns to World Darts Championship after 14 years
PDCSaturday, 25 November 2023 at 19:30
Krzysztof Kciuk has forced qualification for the World Darts Championship. 'The Thumb' was the best player Saturday at the PDC East Europe World Championship Qualifier in the Hungarian capital Budapest.
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The Pole managed to reach the final of the qualifying tournament with victories over Filip Prochazka (6-2), Baranyi Zsombor (6-1), Nandor Major (6-3) and Roman Benecky (6-1).
In the final, he faced Sebastian Bialecki after Bialecki's wins over Gabor Jagicza (6-4) and Pal Szekely (6-3), among others. Bialecki took a 2-0 lead in the final, but then had to concede five legs in a row to Kciuk. Bialecki came back to 6-5, but then Kciuk took the ticket to the World Darts Championship by winning 7-5 on a 15-darter.
For Kciuk, it will be the second time he has been allowed to compete at Alexandra Palace. He made his debut during the edition, but then lost in the preliminary round 4-1 in legs to Haruki Muramatsu.
PDC East Europe World Championship Qualifier 2023
Quarterfinals
Krzysztof Kciuk 6-3 Nandor Major
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Roman Benecky 6-3 Denis Duh
Pal Szekely 6-2 John Michael
Sebastian Bialecki 6-4 Gabor Jagicza
Semi-final
Krzysztof Kciuk 6-1 Roman Benecky
Sebastian Bialecki 6-3 Pal Szekely
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Final
Krzysztof Kciuk 7-5 Sebastian Bialecki
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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