Kai Gotthardt secured his spot at the 2024/25 Paddy Power World Darts Championship after claiming an 8-7 victory over Paul Krohne in Friday’s Hylo PDC Europe Super League final.
The 29-year-old will make his World Darts Championship debut next month after winning a trio of deciding-leg tussles on a thrilling Finals Day in Hildesheim.
Having defied a late fightback from former German number one Max Hopp in the last 16, Gotthardt kicked off Friday’s action with a 6-5 success against Franz Roetzsch, overturning 3-1 and 5-4 deficits to triumph.
He produced another impressive comeback in his semi-final showdown against Dominik Gruellich, reeling off four straight legs from 6-3 adrift to set up a winner-takes-all clash against PDC Tour Card Holder Krohne.
Gotthardt started strongly to establish an early 2-0 cushion, only for Krohne to take control with a run of four straight legs.
The pendulum continued to shift in a topsy-turvy affair, but Gotthardt kept his cool in a dramatic finale, converting a nerveless 86 checkout to take the title.
Gotthardt, who has featured on the PDC ProTour in 2024, will now join his compatriots Martin Schindler, Gabriel Clemens, Ricardo Pietreczko and Florian Hempel in the sport’s flagship event later this year.
Krohne can still join his compatriot at the World Championship if he wins through the Tour Card Holder Qualifier on November 25, despite falling just short in his bid for glory on home soil.
The 23-year-old averaged 97 to account for Leon Weber and Dragutin Horvat in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, following up a 6-4 win over Weber with a remarkable 7-0 demolition of 2023 winner Horvat in the last four.
2024 Hylo PDC Europe Super League
Friday November 8, Hildesheim
Quarter-Finals
Dragutin Horvat 6-3 Pascal Rupprecht
Paul Krohne 6-4 Leon Weber
Kai Gotthardt 6-5 Franz Roetzsch
Dominik Gruellich 6-2 Kevin Troppmann
Semi-Finals
Paul Krohne 7-0 Dragutin Horvat
Kai Gotthardt 7-6 Dominik Gruellich
Final
Kai Gotthardt 8-7 Paul Krohne