Florian Hempel continued his bid for Interwetten PDC Europe Super League glory by winning seven consecutive games to kick off the second group phase on Wednesday.
The PDC Europe Super League – taking place at the H+ Hotel in Niedernhausen – sees Germany’s top stars battling it out for glory, with the winner assured of a place in the 2022/23 Cazoo World Darts Championship.
Eight players were eliminated following Tuesday’s initial round-robin phase, and the remaining 16 players were split into two groups of eight, with the top four players from each group set to advance to the quarter-finals.
Hempel – who won ten straight games in the initial group phase – extended his winning run to 17 matches with a series of classy displays in a star-studded Group A.
The 32-year-old recorded emphatic 6-1 wins over former German number one Max Hopp, 2020 champion Nico Kurz and Players Championship semi-finalist Ricardo Pietreczko.
Hempel also overcame Lukas Wenig, Rene Eidams, Marcel Gerdon and Kai Gotthardt to move to the brink of a place in the last eight, as he bids to book an immediate Alexandra Palace return.
Wenig and Eidams are locked on five wins apiece, with former World Championship qualifier Eidams producing the performance of the day in his 6-1 win over Kurz, averaging almost 102 to triumph.
Kurz currently sits in fourth place ahead of Pietreczko, and while Hopp and Gerdon are further adrift with two wins apiece, Gotthardt is still searching for his first victory in Group A.
Elsewhere, Niko Springer occupies top spot in Group B after winning six of his seven matches on Wednesday, having previously won ten consecutive games in the first round-robin stage.
Springer’s best performance of the afternoon saw him post a ton-plus average in his whitewash win over Marco Obst, although his 16-game winning run was curtailed by David Schlichting during the closing stages of Wednesday’s play.
Franz Rötzsch and Daniel Klose are also well placed after winning five of their seven tussles, with Klose posting a 100 average in his 6-1 demolition of 2021 semi-finalist Dragutin Horvat.
Super League debutant Schlichting won his final four games of the day to storm into fourth spot, producing an 11-darter to deny Rötzsch and taking out a 164 finish in his deciding-leg win over Michael Hurtz.
Monday’s nine-dart hero Horvat is also firmly in contention with four wins from his seven matches, with Hurtz, Manfred Bilderl and Obst requiring a stellar showing on Thursday to preserve their hopes.
Following the conclusion of Thursday’s action, the top four players in each group will move through to Finals Day, which will see the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final take place, as the race to Ally Pally reaches a thrilling finale.
PDC Europe Super League – Latest Results
2022 PDC Europe Super League
Group A
Florian Hempel (7pts)
Lukas Wenig (5pts)
Rene Eidams (5pts)
Nico Kurz (4pts)
Ricardo Pietreczko (3pts)
Marcel Gerdon (2pts)
Max Hopp (2pts)
Kai Gotthardt (0pts)
Group B
Niko Springer (6pts)
Franz Rötzsch (5pts)
Daniel Klose (5pts)
David Schlichting (4pts)
Dragutin Horvat (4pts)
Michael Hurtz (2pts)
Manfred Bilderl (2pts)
Marco Obst (0pts)
—–Ends—–
Inages: PDC Europe
