Lukas Wenig has surprisingly won the German duel with Niko Springer and is only the second German in history to reach the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts.
In a hard-fought match, Wenig prevailed with 10:8 in legs. The German converted his third match dart and couldn’t believe his luck. The Marburg native fought back tears. He and Springer hugged each other warmly.
Lukas Wenig is in the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts
“This is unbelievable. I really had big problems on stage. To have made it to the quarter-finals is unbelievable,” said Wenig.
“Luu” played 93.20 points in the three-dart average. “Der Meenzer Bub” even managed 93.31 points and also the better double rate (57.14 to 52.63), but still had to admit defeat: Wenig was more confident in scoring in the crucial moments and effectively exploited the rare weak phases of his opponent.
Little is fighting for his tour card
For Wenig, the victory was particularly important with a view to the world rankings and the preservation of his Tourcard. Only the best 64 players in the PDC Order of Merit retain their playing rights.
Since Wenig was only ranked 71st before the tournament, the German still has to make up a few places. Wenig is already in 63rd place in the live ranking.
Michael Unterbuchner was the only German darts professional to reach the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts in 2018 and lost there against the eventual winner Gary Anderson. Gabriel Clemens failed in the quarter-finals in 2019.
Little secured £25,000 in prize money by reaching the last eight and continues to build confidence for his World Championship premiere in London (December 11th to January 3rd).
Springer takes home £12,500 in prize money. The champion receives £150,000.
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