Will Hempel prevail over Brown?
With Florian Hempel one of three German darts professionals will start in the 2023 World Championship on Friday evening. Already in the first round a difficult hurdle will be faced, but Hempel’s role as favourite should by no means be overrated.
Enemy Keegan Brown won the last showdown with Hempel 6:0 and thus equalised in the H2H. Whether Hempel will return the favour remains to be seen, after all, the World Cup ticket for the Cologne native was already fiercely contested. The bookmakers are only offering odds of 1.73 on Brown vs. Hempel for tip 2.
Florian Hempel got his ticket for the 2023 World Darts Championship by winning the German Super League. In the final the player from Cologne won a hard fought match against Niko Springer and is now for the second time in a row represented in the “Ally Pally”.
Last year Hempel already caused a sensation at the 2022 World Darts Championship and eliminated among others van den Bergh from the prestigious competition. Now the next adventure starts for the man from Cologne in the darts mecca Alexandra Palace.
Keegan Brown – Statistics & current form
Keegan Brown reports back to the “Ally Pally”. Last year “The Needle” missed the World Darts Championship, this time the world number 64 of the PDC will be back at the World Championship in London. For Brown it is already the sixth World Championship participation in his current career as a darts professional.
In the five World Championship participations before Brown only once was eliminated in the first round. That result was in the World Championship 2016 when “The Needle” was eliminated with a 0:3 against Peter Wright. Since then the best result was the third round of the World Darts Championship, which Brown could reach in 2018 and 2019.
How far this year’s World Championship adventure will go, on the other hand, remains to be seen. No easy task awaits the 30-year-old on Friday evening in the form of Florian Hempel. The only encouraging thing ahead of the showdown with the German darts pro is the recent H2H: In March 2022, Brown managed to beat the Cologne native 6-0.
Is Brown’s recent slump continuing?
Nevertheless, in the current condition of “The Needle” it is more than daring to place a tip on the Englishman in Brown vs. Hempel. Before the World Cup opener on Friday evening, Brown had suffered five defeats in a row. The last time Brown won a match was in October 2022.
In two of his last three matches Brown only had a meagre average of 83. Consequently, the Englishman left the stage as a loser against players like Gurney and Menzies. The defeat against Gurney was a bitter setback. After all, the Northern Irishman had not only the worse average but also the worse double quota.
Brown, however, could not make use of numerous chances and had to say goodbye already in the first round of the Players Championship Finals 2022. The Englishman is now threatened with a first round defeat in the 2023 World Darts Championship as well.
Last matches of Keegan Brown:
Players Championship Finals
25/11/2022 – Daryl Gurney 6 – 2 Keegan Brown
Players Championship 30
05/11/2022 – Keegan Brown 3 – 6 Cameron Menzies
Players Championship 29
04/11/2022 – Jermaine Wattimena 6 – 5 Keegan Brown
Players Championship 28
23/10/2022 – Madars Razma 6 – 2 Keegan Brown
Players Championship 27
22/10/2022 – José de Sousa 6 – 3 Keegan Brown
Florian Hempel – Statistics & current form
Florian Hempel was hardly convincing on the Pro Tour this calendar year and therefore had to fear for a World Championship ticket for long stretches of the current calendar year. Only with the success in the German Super League Hempel solved the ticket for the World Cup 2023 in the “Ally Pally”.
In the Super League, Hempel not only successfully beat Klose and Horvat, but also celebrated an impressive 6:1 victory over Max Hopp. In the final, on the other hand, there was a narrow 10:8 victory for the Cologne player in the best-of-19 against Niko Springer. So the 32-year-old is again one of the few German darts professionals at the World Championship as he was last year.
At the 2022 World Championship Hempel successfully prevailed in the first round against Clemens in the German showdown. In the following round there was also a big surprise to celebrate with the win against van den Bergh. It was only against Raymond Smith (1:4) that Hempel’s 2022 World Cup fairytale came to an end in the third round.
Will Hempel take the momentum from the Super League with him?
This time, however, the third round at the 2023 World Darts Championship is just wishful thinking. After all, if Brown is successful, a second round showdown with Humphries is on the cards. The potential second round opponent of Hempel is one of the favourites for the World Championship title – close behind names like van Gerwen, Price, Smith and Wright.
At least in the first round there is a feasible hurdle. If the Cologne player can manage that task, decent betting odds will be paid out for a prediction on the 32-year-old in Brown vs Hempel.
Last matches of Florian Hempel:
Players Championship 30
05/11/2022 – Florian Hempel 3 – 6 Adam Gawlas
Players Championship 29
04/11/2022 – Chris Dobey 6 – 4 Florian Hempel
04/11/2022 – Florian Hempel 6 – 5 Ricky Evans
Players Championship 28
23/10/2022 – Florian Hempel 1 – 6 Max Hopp
23/10/2022 – Alan Soutar 4 – 6 Florian Hempel
Keegan Brown – Florian Hempel Direct comparison / H2H balance
The H2H between these two players is currently even. Both professionals have been able to record a win each. In November 2021, Hempel prevailed over Brown with a score of 6:5. The match in March 2022, on the other hand, was won by Brown 6:0 and thus celebrated a “white wash”.
Keegan Brown – Florian Hempel Tip
Florian Hempel has not had a successful year so far, but the Cologne native is nevertheless approaching the World Cup with confidence. Not only because Hempel was convincing in the recent Super League, but also because the 32-year-old already caused a sensation at the 2022 World Cup. In the first round, the Cologne player should not have too much trouble against a formally weak Keegan Brown.
Hempel’s opponent on Friday has lost his last five matches and has not been in the best shape this year anyway. Especially the average was disappointing in his last matches. At times Brown threw an average of less than 85 points. The role as underdog in the match against Hempel is therefore understandable.
Although Hempel, as a late bloomer, only clinched his World Cup ticket with his success in the Super League, we have a lot of confidence in the Cologne player at the “Ally Pally”. He should win against “The Needle” Brown in the first round of the 2023 World Cup and set the course for the showdown with Humphries.
With a stake of six units we place our bet on the German darts pro in Brown vs. If successful, Bet365 will pay out odds of up to 1.73.
