Darts in Gleisdreieck Park | Dartboard through Berlin
With a portable dartboard in your luggage, it's easy to meet new people. Especially on the weekend, especially in Berlin. When my brother Jacob comes to pick up the board from me in Lichtenberg on Friday evening, I help him carry the tripod construction to the S-Bahn station. "I've got my darts with me," a young man calls out to us from the side of the road. We had just left my apartment. We initially declined his challenge. After all, we have a big tournament ahead of us tomorrow: our very first Team World Championship.
When I arrive at Berlin's Gleisdreieck the following day, around 6 p.m., the sun bathes the entire park in an orange glow. The scent of fresh grass fills the air. My brother has already set up the dartboard. Next to it are two large checkered picnic blankets, with a few bags, backpacks, and cold drinks on them. Two World Cup participants are already throwing a few practice darts. Two others are treating themselves to the first cold drink of the evening. "We almost found two new players on the subway ," my brother tells me. "They saw our dartboard and were about to change their plans for the evening," he laughs. Little by little, the remaining players from our amateur world championship trickle in, until all twelve of us are there.
Then a draw takes place: I'll be on a team with Robin. A glance at our world rankings immediately makes us appear to be among the favorites to win the tournament. After all, I'm the reigning world champion and number three in our internal rankings, which are compiled from the results of the last two tournament years. Of course, only the tournaments organized by us, the Wendland Darts Corporation (WDC), count. The similarity in name to the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is, of course, purely coincidental. Robin may only be ninth in the world rankings, but he's three places behind.
We came up with a new format for our trip to Gleisdreieck Park . For the first time, we're playing a Team World Championship – even though our WDC has been around for over eleven years. In 2014, we were so excited by the World Championship on TV that we wanted to hold our own tournament. Inspired by the Ally Pally, the large hall at Alexandra Palace in London where the pros compete for the World Championship title, my brother and I renamed our childhood bedroom Nilly Pally – the Nilius Palace – after ourselves. Only since we moved to Berlin has the WDC also played in the capital, and increasingly rarely in our home region, Wendland, which gave its name to our unofficial darts association.
Unfortunately, Robin and I didn't live up to our role as favorites. We lost both our group matches and were the first team eliminated from the tournament. Alex, the world number one, and his team were also eliminated in the group. Perhaps the unfamiliar outdoor conditions were having a greater impact than expected. At one point, the tournament even had to be suspended entirely because a bachelor party right next to us got a little too lively. Equipped with a microphone and loudspeaker, a party guest commented on our throws. It was briefly funny, but then quickly became annoying. Luckily, with a little persuasion, we managed to skillfully talk the moderator out of the proceedings.
But even after that, the external conditions don't necessarily get any easier. The sun is slowly setting and the light is getting less and less bright to see the dartboard clearly. Now it's high time for the semi-finals. "Please welcome: The record breaking, history making, five-time champion of the world!" I shout into the park, even earning appreciative glances from the stag party next to us. Walk-ons from the knockout rounds onwards are, of course, part of a World Cup. All the eliminated teams form a guard of honor, and my brother Jacob struts through with his teammate Luisa to the tune of "Alles neu" by Peter Fox until they reach the front of the dartboard.
The subsequent semi-final against Cara and Marek turns into a battle of nerves. Both teams show nerves in the checkout. Marek and Cara need the four, Jacob and Luisa have seven points remaining. In darts, the exact number of points must be thrown, so with higher scores, the teams "throw over" their remaining points. Everyone misses their target one after the other. "It's so crazy how much pressure there is at the end of a tournament like this," says Cara. Her arms wobble, her fingers tremble as the dart leaves her hand, and the darts keep missing the four. Luisa and Jacob also struggle with the seven – until Jacob finally hits them. About time.
The second semifinal is more straightforward: Annika, who claims she's "never played darts before," takes the lead in scoring and quickly turns the game in her team's favor. Her opponents have no chance. Another indication that it might not be such a bad idea for an outdoor World Cup if you don't even know what playing darts indoors feels like. Because the sun has now set in Kreuzberg's "Gleisi." The number fields on our board are just barely visible.
However, one player in the big World Cup final is unfazed by this: Luisa is unfazed by the summer twilight or the dozen people around her. "73 remaining," I say, and before she throws, I show her the score on my phone. No reaction, no emotion—no tension at all. She throws the first arrow and hits the double four. 65 remaining. Again no reaction. The 20-year-old is unfazed by anything in her first tournament appearance. She throws for the second time: eight. 57 remaining. The next throw could be the last of the evening. Luisa, a brown cap on her head, her black T-shirt knotted at the top on one side, aims, throws, and hits: the triple 19! 57 points, checkout done! Her throw makes her world champion, together with Jacob.
After a brief victory celebration, it's time to head home. The return trip with the dartboard at 11 p.m. on the overcrowded U3 to Warschauer Straße turns out to be a real challenge. The heavy dartboard on its tripod takes up far too much of the limited space. I spend the seven-stop journey wedged between the board and the subway wall. There's more space on the S-Bahn towards Lichtenberg. There, I receive more recognition. "We can do that sometime, take a dartboard with us," a woman says to her companion.
nd-aktuell