Hungarian Darts Trophy: Hempel wins match darts drama

That was not for the faint-hearted! Florian Hempel reached the second round of the Hungarian Darts Trophy (Friday to Sunday live on free TV on SPORT1 and in the free live stream on SPORT1.de) in dramatic fashion. The Cologne native beat Callan Rydz, who was leading 5:2 at one point and had match darts, 6:5 in the legs.

Rydz got off to a fantastic start, breaking in the first leg. But Hempel countered immediately because Rydz was weak on the doubles, while Hempel struck straight away and managed the rebreak. When the score was 2:2, Hempel conceded the next break, and Rydz increased the score to 4:2 with his own throw.

The next break came from Rydz, who checked out 102. However, Hempel showed fighting qualities and promptly broke back, managing to catch up with a 14-darter.

In the tenth leg, Rydz missed two match darts and brought Hempel back into the game. In the decisive leg, Hempel botched the throw – with three darts he only managed 24 points, but Rydz was also unable to pull ahead.

In the end, Hempel hit the third match dart and turned a 2-5 deficit into a 6-5 victory.

Daryl Gurney is now waiting in the second round.

In the first match at midday, Keane Barry prevailed against Darren Beveridge. The Irishman defeated the Scotsman 6:2. Niels Zonneveld also mastered the opening hurdle with a 6:5 win against Sebastian Bielecki.

The winner of Hungary will receive £30,000 in prize money. Dave Chisnall will be the defending champion. Last year, “Chizzy” triumphed in the final against Luke Humphries.