Record viewing figures for new National Hero Gabriel Clemens at PDC World Darts Championship

After Gabriel Clemens's historic run to the PDC World Darts Championship semi-finals, it has now been revealed that a record-breaking number of German fans were glued to their tv sets, inspried by the German Giant's success.

Claiming wins over William O’Connor, Jim Williams, Alan Soutar and Gerwyn Price. Clemens eventually fell, despite a brave effort, to the eventual champion Michael Smith. Back in his homeland of Germany, the nation was transfixed by Clemens's fairy-tale run with his semi-final defeat being viewed by 3.78 million people on Sport1, a record-breaking number for the sport of darts and the third-best viewing figures in the channel's history.

German fans have long been coming in their droves to the Ally Pally with an estimated 750+ (25% of the total crowd) in attendance on semi-finals night. They have been crying out for a darting superstar and whilst the likes of Max Hopp and Martin Schindler have shown flashes of being capable, this run by Clemens is the surest sign yet that German darts is on the rise.

After defeating Clemens and bringing an end to the German number one's time at the Ally Pally, Michael Smith had nothing but praise for his counterpart. "Gabriel is unreal. We’ve had Max Hopp who has won a European Tour and a ProTour, Martin Schindler has been playing really well. We need a massive German and there’s no bigger than the German Giant!" Smith declares. "He has been doing it for a long time and hopefully this is the kick-start that he needs now. Hopefully he turns up and starts winning more titles, has better runs in TV events and Germany finally get the superstar that they’re craving.”

The question on many people's lips now is, with the Premier League of Darts returning to Berlin later this year, could the PDC capitalise on Clemens's newfound stardom back home and offer him a wildcard spot into the event?