VIDEO | "I felt incredibly sorry about that" - Florian Hempel makes public apology after World Championship win over Jeffrey de Zwaan

Florian Hempel was able to extend his Ally Pally success record at the PDC World Darts Championship and win his fourth first round duel in a row. He started the 2025 tournament by defeating the dangerous Dutchman Jeffrey de Zwaan 3-1 on Friday evening, but Hempel opened the post-match press conference by apologising to his opponent.

"I think one of the key moments was definitely when I'm facing tops and he's at 170 rest. The dart gets stuck in my board, the flight falls down, the dart falls down... I was suddenly a bit overwhelmed by the situation. That was an absolutely key moment that I really had to think about," Hempel explained to the German language darts media. "For me it's very, very important that we can both show our best darts if we both pay attention to fair play. It can happen - but it can't happen to us. I throw thousands of darts a day and get them pulled out. I felt incredibly sorry about that, my mindset was suddenly completely different."

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Hempel impressed in the first two sets in particular with top-class scoring and ice-cold finishing. "We both had our ups and downs. We were both really good at scoring at the start," he recalls. "He missed a few chances on the doubles at the start, which was my luck - my doubles came relatively quickly. But it didn't feel like I was clearly the better player."

Hempel also emphasised the fact that he can relax about his Order of Merit position this year. "Then I think the decisive factor is that I can look ahead to next year with relative peace of mind and that it's all about the Tour Card for him. Then you're missing the odd millimetre or two."

Hempel in action

Hempel will now return to the Ally Pally stage on Monday evening when he faces Daryl Gurney in round two. "It's back to the daily rhythm from tomorrow. You can't save your form in two days, but I'll try to take my performance into the next game and I'm looking forward to the match against Daryl."

The duel between Hempel and Gurney not only brings together two great darts players, but also special walk-ons. While Hempel is increasingly delighting the English fans with "Kölsche Jung" by Brings, Gurney's warm-up music "Sweet Caroline" is one of the sport's absolute classics. "Hopefully I'll win this duel in my favour," joked a satisfied Hempel.

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