Gabriel Clemens misses out on a sensational comeback at the Darts World Championship against World Championship favorite Luke Humphries. The German’s performance is also recognized internationally.
Gabriel Clemens had his back against the wall, facing a clear defeat at 0:3 down in sets at the Darts World Championship (from December 11 to January 3 LIVE on SPORT1 ). But against Luke Humphries, the world number two, the “German Giant” launched a furious comeback and narrowly missed out on the decisive seventh set.
After Clemens had been unable to build on the performances that led him to the World Championship semi-finals in 2023 for the past two years, the international press was also astonished by the resilience of the former German number one.
The Sun: “On Sunday evening, world number two Luke Humphries survived a major scare and defeated Gabriel Clemens 4-2.”
“Giant ensures massive turnaround. After Luke Humphries had won the previous set, this seemed to spur Gabriel Clemens on. He won the following set like a man possessed. Suddenly Cool Hand started to sweat under his collar.”
BBC: “Humphries survives a scare and advances with van Gerwen.”
The Guardian: “Humphries is given a mighty scare by ‘hibernating’ Clemens. On Sunday, in a room full of cheering German package tourists, he waddled back onto this stage and unleashed the pure magic he had always been capable of.”
Clemens scores “180 after 180 effortlessly”
The Independent: “The 2024 champion was almost forced into a decision set after an impressive comeback by Gabriel Clemens.”
Sky Sports: “The drama just wouldn’t stop, and as Clemens effortlessly hit 180 after 180, he gave himself a chance to take the match to a deciding set, but missed three set darts on tops, D10, and then D5 to win the leg, while Humphries showed nerves of steel and hit D13.”
Oche180: “Humphries digs deep to prevent a major upset at the World Championship.”
Press Association (via ESPN): “There was no hint of the drama to come, as Humphries cruised through the first two sets and then edged a tight third.
He celebrated the victory with a huge roar of relief, leaving Clemens – who achieved an average of 101.49 – to ponder what might have been.”
Het Nieuwsblad: “The German smells blood.”
Sporza: “Along with Littler, he is the top favorite for the overall victory, but in round three of the Darts World Championship, things didn’t go quite so smoothly for Luke Humphries. The Briton’s red cheeks after the match spoke volumes: he had survived a difficult moment against the “German Giant” Gabriel Clemens.”
Sportnieuws: “Luke Humphries seems to be the big favorite for the title, alongside Luke Littler. For this, he had to contend with Gabriel Clemens in a true spectacle on Sunday evening.”