Gabriel Clemens caused quite a stir at the darts world championship. The “German Giant” stormed into the semi-finals, but was thrown out of the tournament by Michael Smith. That doesn’t detract from the hype about Clemens – but now there is a little disillusionment for the time being.
The world association PDC has clearly denied a fixed participation of the “German Giant” Gabriel Clemens in the prestigious Darts Premier League. “Clemens is not about to be called up for the Premier League this week,” managing director Matthew Porter said in an interview with TV channel Sport1.
Porter added that the eight starters for the next Premier League season will not be announced on Tuesday’s final night of the World Cup as usual, but rather later in January. The media had reported that the 39-year-old Saarlander would definitely be in the competition.
The first four professionals in the world rankings are seeded. In addition to the two London finalists Michael van Gerwen (Netherlands) and Michael Smith (England), there are also Welshman Gerwyn Price and Scotsman Peter Wright. “We read that Clemens was promised a permanent place in the Premier League. That would be a big claim because nobody has a permanent place. Not even Phil Taylor had a permanent place,” added Porter.
In addition to Clemens, the contenders also include the Belgian Dimitri van den Bergh and the Englishmen Luke Humphries, Joe Cullen, Nathan Aspinall and Rob Cross. Clemens was the first German to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup and on the way there defeated the number one in the ranking list Price 5-1 in sets. In the round of the top four, however, the man from Saarwellingen had no chance against Smith. After a balanced initial phase, the “Bully Boy” ultimately won very confidently with 6:2 in the sets.
(This article was first published on Tuesday, January 03, 2023.)
