"To put it bluntly, I had a stroke on doubles": Hempel after painful and 'unacceptable' defeat to Wright

Florian Hempel kicked off his 2025 campaign in impressive fashion. The 33-year-old from Cologne confidently booked his spot in the main draw of the prestigious Winmau World Masters and even made a strong run to the quarter-finals of a Players Championship event. But since that promising start, the results have failed to follow — despite a consistently solid level of play.

Speaking on the Game On podcast, which he co-hosts alongside commentary legend Elmar Paulke, Hempel opened up about his recent struggles, particularly the painful first-round exit at Players Championship 11 against two-time world champion Peter Wright.

“My game actually feels good. The averages tell a positive story,” Hempel explained. “But the results just aren’t coming.” The defeat to Wright still lingers in his mind: “If someone had asked me right after the match whether I’d keep playing, I’d have said: ‘Not this year.’ I was really down.”

And with good reason. Hempel delivered a superb performance against Wright for much of the match. He raced to a 5-1 lead, maintained a 100% checkout rate early on, and averaged over 100 — but then came the collapse. “To put it bluntly, I had a stroke on doubles,” Hempel said with a touch of gallows humour. He missed seven match darts, allowing Wright to stage a dramatic comeback and steal the win.

“Losing a match like that hurts enormously,” he admitted. “Especially when you see Peter go on to win his next match with an 83 average against someone averaging 73. If I land one of those match darts, I’m probably taking home at least £1,500 in prize money — and who knows how far I could have gone from there. The way those first three or four darts missed the double was just not acceptable.”

The disappointment continued in subsequent events, with Hempel suffering back-to-back first-round defeats at Players Championships 13 and 14, losing to Daryl Gurney and Andrew Gilding respectively. Still, the Rhinelander remains determined.

“I can’t control the draw, whether I get lucky, or if my opponent is playing out of his skin. I just want to play. If it works, it works. If not, then I’ll go again in Hildesheim.”

There’s also a note of reflection in Hempel’s outlook. “Other players have it even tougher,” he said. “Look at Jules van Dongen — he’s battling dartitis and has been training left-handed for five weeks. Or Glen Durrant — a Premier League winner who suddenly couldn’t hit anything. He’s been fighting real demons.”

His conclusion? “Everyone goes through a rough patch. You have to fight your way through — if you’ve got the patience and the strength.”