The first Ukrainian entrant in tournament history, a debutant with a world-class performance and the embarrassing performance of a two-time former world champion. Day four of the 2023 World Darts Championship in London had a lot to offer.
When Vladyslav Omelchenko entered the stage at Alexandra Palace in London on the fourth day of the 2023 World Darts Championship, the 47-year-old was visibly overwhelmed. The Ukrainian caused such a loud cheering storm from the 3,000 fans in the hall that one had the feeling that one of the top stars like Michael van Gerwen or Peter Wright was ready for the game.
The reason is clear: darts history is being written at this moment late on Sunday afternoon. For the first time in 30 years of the world championship of the professional dart organization PDC, a Ukrainian is playing in the most important tournament of the year. Omelchenko, who, like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, comes from Kryvyi Rih, won a qualifying tournament in Kyiv in October.
In the past, a qualifying event had always been held in Russia. But because of the Russian attack on Ukraine, the PDC changed the rules this year. The Eurasian Darts Association based in Moscow was suspended and was not allowed to host its qualifying tournament. Instead, the PDC organized the event in Kyiv.
Many experts had expected Omelchenko to make an emotional but hopeless appearance against the world number 50 in "Ally Pally". Luke Woodhouse would lie down. As expected, the highly favored Woodhouse ultimately won the game 3-0 in sets. But the game was closer than expected. After a smooth 3:0 in the first set, Omelchenko improved significantly. The 47-year-old miner narrowly lost the second set 2:3 and was also able to win a leg in the third set. The Ukrainian even managed the highest checkout of the game. 143 points brought Omelchenko to zero via triple 20, triple 17 and double 16 and the fans boiled with it.
After the game, the World Cup debutant was close to tears in an interview with Sport1 when he reflected on his goosebumps performance. "I don't even know what I felt after the 143 checkout. I was so happy. I don't even know how I did it. It was very emotional."
Omelchenko was only able to prepare for his "big dream" under difficult conditions. "Training in Ukraine is very difficult right now. There are big problems with electricity and heating. We have to help out with generators. I tried to train two to three hours a day anyway." It paid off: With an average point average of 80 per shot, he did better than seven other players in the tournament so far.
Adrian Lewis also played at a similar level to Omelchenko on Sunday. Unlike the Ukrainian, however, Lewis is a two-time world champion. But "Jackpot" played like a shadow of bygone times in its smooth 0:3 defeat against the Australian Damon Heta. The champion of 2011 and 2012 seemed unmotivated, powerless and emotionless. So the debacle was logical for the Englishman.
Lewis' compatriot Nathan Aspinall put in a much better performance later in the day. Because the PDC wanted to avoid the final of the World Cup, the evening session started later than usual. So it was just before midnight UK time when Aspinall scored the decisive dart in the game against Croatian Boris Krcmar in doubles.
The 31-year-old Englishman won 3-1, having to fall back on his qualities as a strong and emotional player. After an initially sluggish start, Aspinall fought his way into the game better and better over the course of the game. The preliminary decision finally brought a calculation error by his opponent in the third set. "To be honest, I stole the first set, but then I played really well," said Aspinall after his opening win.
However, the game with the best quality was another: Scott Williams defeated ex-quarter-finalist Ryan Joyce 3-1 in his first World Cup appearance. The game really didn't deserve a loser. Joyce convinced with an average of 103 points, Williams also came just over the magic 100 point mark. That's usually the stuff World Cup finals are made of.
On this Sunday evening, the number 40 and the number 66 in the world played in an unbelievable frenzy. With Ryan Joyce, the statistically best player of the first four days of the World Cup was eliminated because he was weaker than his opponent when throwing onto the eight millimeter wide double fields. "I felt fantastic today and it showed on stage. I know what I'm capable of," said Williams, who will face 2018 World Champion Rob Cross in the next round.
First of all, today's fifth day of the tournament at the Darts World Cup is mainly characterized by the world number one. Gerwyn Price denies his opening game. The 2021 world champion will face Omelchenko conqueror Luke Woodhouse in the last game of the evening.
