German Darts Open - Report Finals Day

Incredible Hopp Wins First Euro Title
GERMANY'S MAX HOPP created history as he won his first ever PDC European Tour title with a dramatic last leg victory over Michael Smith to lift the German Darts Open trophy in Saarbrucken.
In a fairy-tale run, the 2015 PDC World Youth Champion beat a number of top stars on his way to the 25,000 pound first prize.

With over 3,000 home fans cheering him to victory, the young German dug deep and produced some dramatic finishing to secure an incredible comeback win in a historical moment for the sport. The 21-year-old, who came through Thursday's (April 12) home nation qualifiers to be in the event, started his campaign with a convincing victory over Zoran Lerchbacher, and then saw off reigning champion Peter Wright on Saturday.
And on the final day, he came through a gruelling encounter with 2017 finalist Benito van de Pas, squeezed past Joe Cullen and then beat reigning World Champion Rob Cross with a stunning 121 checkout in a last leg decider to reach the final.
He was then to repeat that trick when the pressure was at its highest to secure his first ever PDC senior title. In a truly gripping final, the young German looked to be running out of steam as he trailed Smith for large parts. An early break of throw saw Smith race into a 3-0 lead, before Hopp began to wake up with a 13-darter to get a foothold in the game. With legs continuing to go with throw, Smith looked to be walking towards a fifth European Tour title as he kept Hopp, and the home-crowd at bay as he moved 6-4 ahead. Hopp then seized the advantage in the eleventh leg as he broke back with a 14-darter to move to within one at 6-5. He backed that up with another 14-darter to hold and level at 6-6. A shaky leg then saw him pass the initiative back to Smith, and despite missing the bull for a 170 checkout, saw the Premier League star move onto the brink of the title. The opportunity for a 121 checkout presented itself once more to Hopp to level, and despite missing the bull, he cleaned up the 25 to force a last leg decider. But there was no missing the next time around as the young German sparked pandemonium in the Saarlandhalle as he landed the 121 on the bull to snatch the title in incredible fashion.

it's a landmark moment for Germany's number one and a watershed moment for darts in his home country. Having not even reached the Semi-Finals of a PDC senior event before, he becomes the first German to ever win a PDC ranking event. He has now also all but secured his place in the BetVictor World Matchplay for the first time, as well as a place in the World Grand Prix of Darts.

It was an enthralling day of action on the final day of the German Darts Open, starting with Michael van Gerwen being given a scare as he recovered from 4-1 down to beat Alan Tabern 6-4 But the tournament was to then be blown wide open in the Quarter-Finals as the World Number One crashed out in dramatic fashion at the hands of Ian White in a 6-2 defeat. It was one of the performances of the competition from White as he backed up his whitewash of Dave Chisnall in the third round by averaging 105.92 and landing six of his seven double attempts to beat Van Gerwen.

His run was then abruptly brought to an end in a 7-1 defeat in the Semi-Finals by Smith, who averaged an incredible 107.24 and landed 78% of his doubles in his finest display of the competition. Smith had earlier beaten Jelle Klaasen and Mervyn King to reach this stage.

World Champion Cross, still on the hunt for his first European Tour title, too looked in good form on the final day. He started with a comfortable win over Darren Webster, before brushing aside Gerwyn Price with a 105 average. But he ran into a resilient Hopp, buoyed by the home crowd, who put in arguably his best display of the competition, averaging over 100, landing five maximums and taking out checkouts of 120 and 121 to beat him in a 7-6 thriller.
And then in the final, with all hope looking lost, Hopp produced the darts his career has been crying out for to secure his first PDC title since his World Youth Championship back in 2015.

The German will be back in action as the European Tour continues on April 20-22, with the Austrian Darts Open in Premstätten.






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