Lukas Wenig is eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts. The Dutchman Danny Noppert proves to be a size too big for the German.
The dream has burst, Lukas Wenig’s sensational run has been stopped: The German is eliminated at the Grand Slam of Darts. Little lost his quarter-final against the Dutchman Danny Noppert with 8:16 in legs.
“Luu” played a three-dart average of 92.86 points. “The Freeze” was better with 97.61 points in the average. Wenig had a double rate of 28.57 percent, while Noppert’s was 42.11 percent.
Lukas Wenig is eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts
Grand Slam of Darts: Little with Highlight at the Beginning
Little provided a highlight right in the first leg when he checked 130 points for a 1:0 lead. Noppert even played two high finishes in a row. He checked 116 points in the eighth leg and even 140 points in the ninth leg – tantamount to an intermediate 6:3 lead.
Initially, Wenig was particularly strong on the doubles, with a checkout rate of 80 percent at times. As the game progressed, however, both players had their problems on the doubles and missed some attempts.
“The chances were there”
Little repeatedly missed the opportunity to exploit Noppert’s few mistakes.
To the intermediate 5:11, the German at least made a statement: With 170 points, he took out the highest possible finish.
At the score of 6:15 Wenig even followed up with a fourth high finish with 129 points and shortened again to 7:15. The German then held his serve at 8:15. The next leg, however, was secured by Noppert – and thus also the victory. The Dutchman converted his fifth match dart on the double-4.
For Wenig, reaching the quarter-finals was particularly important with a view to the world rankings and the preservation of his tour card. Only the best 64 players in the PDC Order of Merit retain their eligibility to play.
Since Wenig was only ranked 71st before the tournament, the German still has to make up some places. In the live ranking, Wenig already occupies 63rd place.
After Michael Unterbuchner in 2018, Wenig was only the second German darts professional in the history of the tournament to reach the quarter-finals. Gabriel Clemens failed in the round of 16 in 2019.
This year, Wenig, Niko Springer and Martin Schindler all survived the group stage. Schindler failed on Wednesday evening in his round of 16 against Welshman Gerwyn Price (6:10). Little prevailed on Thursday evening with 10:8 against compatriot Springer. Against Noppert was then the final stop.
Little secured 28,500 pounds in prize money by reaching the last eight.
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