Van Gerwen's criticism of German darters not warmly received: ''It wasn’t the nicest thing he could have said''

Florian Hempel is one of the standout names in the German darts scene at the moment. The Cologne-based player is experiencing his best season start ever and has recently become the co-host of Elmar Paulke's podcast "Game On." In this podcast, he shares his experiences on the PDC Tour and recently responded to Michael van Gerwen's criticism of German darts.

Hempel has made a solid start to his fifth season as a professional. During the podcast, Paulke asked him about his opinion on Van Gerwen's statements. The three-time world champion stated that Germany urgently needs "real top players" and that this is currently lacking.

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Hempel largely agreed with Van Gerwen: "He's not entirely wrong. We've been on the Tour for a while now, and while the breadth of German darts is growing, we still lack a real top player." So far, Hempel is still waiting for a second German winner of a Players Championship title. Max Hopp remains the only German to have won such a tournament, which he did in 2018.

Although there have been some successes, such as Gabriel Clemens' semi-finals at the World Championship and the Players Championship Finals, and Martin Schindler's two European Tour titles, Germany is still missing a true breakthrough in the form of a Major victory or a Major final appearance.

Despite the lack of a true breakthrough, Hempel sees a lot of potential: "Germany is absolutely a darts nation. The European Tour events are always sold out, and dart merchandise sales in Germany are massive. We have the financial power and the fans, but we need a major title to keep growing."

According to Hempel, competition worldwide is getting younger and better. Whether it is Clemens, Schindler, himself, or Ricardo Pietreczko who takes the next step, he does not mind. "Although I naturally hope it will be me," he laughs. "But I’d also be happy for any other German to succeed."

Van Gerwen specifically mentioned German number two Ricardo Pietreczko in his criticism: "Ricardo is not that good. He’s nice, but he doesn’t hurt anyone on the board."

Hempel found the remark rather harsh: "It wasn’t the nicest thing he could have said about Ricardo." However, he believes that Pietreczko can bounce back. "If he regains his focus like he did at the end of 2023, when he won a European Tour title, he will play at a high level again. He has his own style, both on and off the board, and he needs to find his own way."

According to Hempel, Pietreczko's small dip in form was simply due to him processing his first major successes. "He's gaining that experience now, and it will do him good in the long run."

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