His place in the history books has long since been secured, and his sensational run at the 2023 World Darts Championship has provided so many superlatives that it’s easy to lose track. Within a few days, Gabriel Clemens became a living legend of German darts.
Since the premiere in 1994, 16 Germans have taken part in the PDC World Championships. Only one reached the round of 16: Clemens himself two years ago. Now he not only reached the quarter-finals, but also the semi-finals with his furious victory against Gerwyn Price. Two years ago he dethroned the defending champion with Peter Wright, this time he tipped the number one from the top. victories for eternity.
Nobody got further than “Gaga”, nobody made more money. His most recent win doubled his prize money from £50,000 to £100,000 in 2023. With another success in the semi-finals, the next serve could be 100 percent. Participation in the final will be rewarded with £200,000. Overall, he has long since overtaken the German record participant Max Hopp financially.
And the next big paydays are also secured. According to BILD information, the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) has nominated the German number one as a permanent participant for the Premier League – that has never happened before either. Only the best professionals in the world play in the elite league. Half of the eight starting places are awarded to the number one to four in the world rankings, the other four choose PDC and the British broadcaster “Sky Sports”. Peter Wright, Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith have secured their place, Gerwyn Price would also be there as the current fourth in the ranking.
For the three other wild cards in addition to Clemens, World Cup semi-finalist Dimitri van den Bergh, who could still catch Price in the ranking if he wins the title, as well as the Englishmen Luke Humphries, Rob Cross, Nathan Aspinall and Joe Cullen are the most promising candidates. Every Thursday, the eight professionals fight for the prize money totaling one million pounds over 16 match days and the final day. Even the bottom of the table is still paid out with 60,000 pounds at the end. It starts on February 2nd. Two months later, the tour will also come to Berlin (March 30).
The fact that Clemens is there should cause discussions in view of his world ranking position, but the PDC has been waiting for years to be able to add a German participant to their traveling circus through the large halls of Europe. The German market, which has grown rapidly in recent years, is too lucrative. The longtime PDC chairman Barry Hearn spoke many years ago of the Boris Becker effect, which he expected in this country. In 2022, 12,000 fans watched the dart throwers in the Mercedes-Benz Arena. With Clemens, the 17,000-seat hall should be sold out.
Clemens, number 25 in the ranking list, improved by at least six places after the World Cup. He is also the first German in the top 20 in the world. The national record so far was 21st place, which both Hopp and Clemens achieved themselves. The “German Giant” has now put itself in a good starting position to be one of the 16 seeded players in the upcoming major tournaments. Because as interesting as the Premier League meatpots are, results don’t count for the rankings. His participation in events such as the World Matchplay in summer or the World Grand Prix in autumn are therefore more important from a sporting point of view.
With his success at the World Cup, he has greatly improved his starting position in this respect. In the race for a spot on the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix seeding list, he’s just £23,000 adrift of 16th place in prize money. His 99.94 point average in the win against Price was the highest average ever by a German player at Alexandra Palace. Clemens surpassed – of course – his own record from the 2021 World Cup.