The PDC World Darts Championship 2024 starts on Friday, December 15, and a new German record will be set in this edition. For the first time, five Germans will be competing.
The seeded players are Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler, who are in the top 32 of the Order of Merit. "It's great that we have them and we need them to play the big tournaments," Elmar Paulke told dartsnews.de.
"Now we have Ricardo [Pietreczko], the next one up, and Florian Hempel, who may have missed the first six months a bit in sporting terms, but who is also showing that he can keep up," he continued, not forgetting the German players further down the world rankings.
"Let's wait another two or three years, a few more will follow and then I think we'll see the kind of development we know and notice in the Netherlands. Sure, they are led by the van Gerwens, but the players in the second or third row can also develop in peace because the other players have the focus. For example, Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler now have the focus and there is a bit of a shadow on those who want to and can develop and who will probably do so."
Ricardo Pietreczko recently experienced just how important this development is in the shadow of the big names and what it means to be in the spotlight. After his victory at the German Darts Championship, he felt the pressure of expectation and its dark side at the Grand Slam of Darts when the English crowd turned against him to support Beau Greaves. "He also realizes that it's not that easy," Paulke looked back on this incident and drew a parallel to Max Hopp.
"I think a lot of people underestimate the burden Max has carried because he was the first [successful German darts player]. What a load he carried! He always had to live up to expectations."
"Ricardo has now been given a hint of what that can mean when you suddenly bring expectations with you because you show that you are good. That's a completely different situation. He has to learn that, it's a developmental step for him now. He's now arrived in the professional game, where people are paying attention to him because they know he might be able to win big tournaments. He obviously has the potential to do so. Of course, this is a new step for him. It's the next step in his development and you don't do everything right. It's completely normal."
So can we hope for a further positive development of darts in Germany? "I think the next big step will happen when we have the next big national success. Gaga [reaching the semi-finals of the 2023 World Darts Championship] showed that. That was the example. If we want to ignite the enthusiasm further, we need the Germany factor," said Paulke in his assessment.
"Overall, I really believe that we are nowhere near the peak yet, it will continue. And I believe that the next generation is coming along now. The players from the second tier. A lot of young players who are on the Development Tour."
And Paulke is not just referring to well-known names such as Niko Springer. "There are two handfuls of players who show that they have the potential. They show that they want to play internationally and now have the opportunity to play such tournaments in Germany and compete internationally thanks to the Development Tour."
Paulke spent many years commentating on tennis broadcasts before coming into contact with darts. So it is obvious for him to draw parallels between these two sports. Here, too, the tournament structure was a decisive factor in how the sport developed in a country.
"At some point, the Spanish really built up the Challenge Tour in tennis and organized many, many tournaments. As a result, many Spaniards were involved in the matches and at some point had the opportunity to assert themselves. Then I think it's really only a matter of time before someone gets through."
"When we see that we have 30 German darters here [in the second tier], it's a matter of time before someone wins the tournament and then the next steps follow. That then has such a pull effect and I believe that this is therefore very important and that these next steps will also come," he concluded.
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