What are the chances of the record-breaking German representation at the World Darts Championship?

For the first time, five German players will participate in the World Darts Championship. Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler qualified through the Order of Merit, Ricardo Pietreczko through the Pro Tour ranking.

The other two Germans are Florian Hempel and Dragutin Horvat. At the last minute, Hempel secured his ticket to the World Darts Championship via the Tour Card Holder Qualifier. By the way, it was the first time a German won here. Horvat won the PDC Europe Super League and thus gets to take the stage at Alexandra Palace again after seven years.

Clemens caused a real darts hype in Germany earlier this year when he became the first German ever to reach the semifinals of the World Darts Championship. At the time, "The German Giant" won against Gerwyn Price, among others, who entered the stage with headphones at the time to shut out the boos from the audience. In the semifinals, Clemens eventually lost 2-6 to world champion Michael Smith.

But "Gaga" was mostly eliminated in the first or second round of the stage tournaments he competed in after that. Clemens put an end to that series at the Players Championship Finals in late November, where he managed to make it to the semifinals. However, his run was stopped by Michael van Gerwen, who beat the German 11-6.

Clemens also participated in the World Cup of Darts together with Martin Schindler. The German team together advanced to the semifinals, in which the Scottish team, represented by Peter Wright and Gary Anderson, proved a size too big.

Schindler had another solid season. He reached the quarterfinals at the UK Open and World Grand Prix, plus also reached the last eight twice on the Euro Tour. On this circuit, Schindler even made it to the semifinals once as well.

'The Wall' was eliminated in the first round at the 2022 World Darts Championship by compatriot Florian Hempel, and therefore does not have to defend any prize money. The upcoming tournament is therefore a good opportunity to make strides in the world rankings. Then he will first have to deal with Fallon Sherrock or Jermaine Wattimena.

Pikachu is playing at the World Darts Championship for the first time this year. His qualification is owed mainly due to winning a Euro Tour tournament. At the German Darts Championship, he defeated Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright, among others.

That also earned him a debut at the Grand Slam of Darts. However, he failed to make it through a group with Nathan Aspinall, Damon Heta and Beau Greaves.

For Florian Hempel, other interests come into play at the World Darts Championship. The dart player from Cologne must reach at least the second round to have a chance of retaining his Tour Card.

The 33-year-old German will play Dylan Slevin in the first round. If he wins, Dimitri van den Bergh awaits in the second round. Hempel has good memories of the Belgian, as he managed to beat Van den Bergh at the World Darts Championship two years ago. If Hempel can pull this off again, he will be 100 percent sure of retaining his Tour Card.

It came as a surprise to many that Horvat won the PDC Europe Super League. He beat the likes of Nico Kurz, Lukas Wenig and Pascal Rupprecht on his way to qualifying for the World Darts Championship.

This year, the 48-year-old Horvat also managed to achieve success on the PDC Challenge Tour. He managed to win the ninth event by defeating Christian Kist in the final. Seven years ago, Horvat also got to compete at Alexandra Palace. Then he lost 3-0 in sets to Simon Whitlock.