Ricardo Pietreczko couldn’t help but address the German fans in the Ally Pally crowd (Image: Sky Sports )
Ricardo Pietreczko stopped his Sky Sports interview at the to address the Ally Pally crowd in German during Saturday’s action.
The Berlin-born arrowsmith put on a dominant display against Scott Williams, despatching the 2024 semi-finalist 4-1 in sets.
Pietreczko averaged close to 100 in the five-set contest and boasted a handsome 52 per cent on the doubles as well.
Playing with a point to prove, Pietreczko refused to dance to Williams’ tune and instead let his arrows do the talking in the round three contest.
There was a typically jubilant atmosphere inside the Palace, but rather unusually, it was the German contingent making most of the noise.
It appeared to help drag Pietreczko through his rocky spells in the match, with the 30-year-old addressing the crowd during his post-match Sky Sports interview.
Speaking to the broadcaster, he rather timidly asked Stuart Pyke: “Can I say something in German?”
Pietreczko went on to thank the fans inside the Alexandra Palace for their support, as he continues to carry the flag as the only German representative left in the World Championship.
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Ricardo Pietreczko addresses his lively fans after making the last 16 ????????????
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On his performance in the last-16, Pietreczko had said earlier: “It’s a very big smile [on my face]. It’s unbelievable.”
When quizzed on whether that was the best he’d played in recent months, he responded: “Yeah I think so. I think making it to the last 16 of the World Championship, it’s my best yet.”
And on the support, he added: “Yeah, the support from Germany has been massive, thank you very much.”
Pietreczko’s prize for making it through to the round of 16 for the first time is a clash against either Nathan Aspinall or Andrew Golding, who face off in the final match of Saturday’s afternoon session.
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It comes after an electric return to the Palace following the Christmas break, with on Friday afternoon.
Heta went on to lose his round three clash against Luke Woodhouse but was able to bank a whopping £60,000 for his nine-dart finish.
Elsewhere, Gerwyn Price and Joe Cullen played out one of the matches of the tournament with a seven-set thriller.
Despite suffering a loss of form at times throughout 2024, former world champion Price made it through by virtue of an edgy 4-3 victory.
Whereas Peter Wright, who has been suffering with a chest infection, defied the odds to beat Jermaine Wattimena and set up a tasty-looking last-16 tie against reigning champion Luke Humphries.