Der Niederländer Christian Kist hat bei der Darts-Weltmeisterschaft in London den ersten Neun-Darter geworfen. Mit der Mindestanzahl von neun Pfeilen brachte er 501 Punkte auf 0, dies gilt im Darts als perfektes Spiel. Nichtsdestotrotz unterlag Kist Madars Razma in der ersten Runde mit 1:3. Der Lette trifft nun in Runde zwei auf Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Für den Neun-Darter gibt es ein Bonus-Preisgeld in Höhe von 180.000 Pfund (etwa 215.000 Euro), was circa 218.000 Euro entspricht. Der 38 Jahre alte Kist bekommt aber nur ein Drittel der Summe. Jeweils ein Drittel erhalten ein Zuschauer und eine Wohltätigkeitsorganisation, die sich für die Erforschung von Prostatakrebs einsetzt.
Überraschung durch Paolo Nebrida
Neun-Darter kommen bei einer WM nicht besonders häufig vor. Kist warf den 15. Neun-Darter in der Geschichte der Titelkämpfe. Zuvor gelang das perfekte Spiel bei einer WM letztmals Michael Smith im Finale 2023 – im Gegensatz zu Kist konnte Smith damals das Duell mit dem langjährigen Darts-Dominator Michael van Gerwen für sich entscheiden.
Zuvor hatte der Philippine Paolo Nebrida für eine Überraschung gesorgt. Nebrida gewann gegen den Weltranglisten-46. Jim Williams mit 3:2 und zog damit bei der dritten Teilnahme erstmals in die zweite Runde einer Weltmeisterschaft ein. Im Entscheidungssatz behielt der asiatische Qualifikant die Nerven. Sein walisischer Kontrahent, der bei eigenem Anwurf vorne weg ging, ließ hingegen drei Versuche zum Finish aus. In der nächsten Runde bekommt Nebrida es nun mit Ross Smith, der Nummer 19 der Order of Merit, zu tun.
Meanwhile, Rashad Sweeting became the first player from the Bahamas to compete at the World Cup in London, first got lost walking to the stage, then lost the first round duel with the Swede Jeffrey de Graaf and ended up as the crowd’s favorite. By the time the “Candy Man” had preferred the 180 – the ultimate mood-maker in the Ally Pally – to the easier finish of his remaining 194 points, the crowd of fans had died.
And it wasn’t just them who celebrated the debutant. On Wednesday, a day after Sweeting’s loss, the tournament’s main sponsor announced it would cover travel expenses for the Bahamian Immigration Service employee. Because: The 34-year-old not only caused thunderous cheers with his first maximum yield of three litters, but also raised another 1,000 pounds (approximately 1,212 euros), which will be donated to prostate cancer awareness.
Sweeting as “winner of hearts”
His unwise but frenetically celebrated maneuver made him the “winner of hearts” on social networks. He ultimately lost the game against first-round opponent Jeffrey de Graaf. He couldn’t play down the remaining 14 points to win the set. As a result, the man from the Bahamas didn’t have much luck. But the headlines are his.
He obviously doesn’t care who the German Gabriel Clemens might meet during the World Cup. He is set up in such a way that he “only has the first game in mind and nothing else,” said Clemens before his start in London.
On Thursday (4:40 p.m. on Sport1 and DAZN) the “German Giant” will be playing in the Ally Pally with his match against the Welsh replacement Robert Owen; in the first round he received a bye as a seeded player. The fact that he would avoid world champion Humphries and shooting star Littler until the final was new to the 41-year-old.
“I hadn’t looked at the tournament tree that far, to be honest,” admitted the Saarlander. Clemens only knew about his possible reunion in the next round with the Englishman Dave Chisnall, who had thrown him out 1:4 last year, “because I had already been told it in a few interviews”.
“Then you can live with anything”
Clemens surprisingly stormed into the World Cup semi-finals two years ago, and this year he has to successfully defend his 100,000 pounds in prize money (around 212,000 euros).
But his performance is of secondary importance for “Gaga”. “If you play a good game and lose it unluckily, or because your opponent was simply much better, then you can handle it quite well,” he said: “What’s really important is that you perform your own way. Then I think you can somehow live with everything.”
