‘My bones were aching’ – Darts star gives bizarre explanation after suffering whitewash defeat
Ricardo Pietreczko has claimed his body was in a bad way during his defeat to Nathan Aspinall. The German star had impressed at the PDC World Championship, and was expected to compete in a mouth-watering contest with No.12 seed Aspinall in the round of 16. PDCPietreczko was beaten badly in his round of 16 appearance in North London[/caption] But the showdown failed to live up to the imagination, as Pietreczko looked a shadow of himself at the oche. He fell to a 4-0 straight sets whitewash defeat, and barely mustered any momentum in the match, averaging just 78.46 on the night. Pietreczko even lost ten straight legs at one point in the match, but couldn’t contain his smiling as things simply didn’t go his way. ‘Pikachu’ attracted attention for his behaviour on stage where he interacted with fans and even cheered Aspinall’s check-outs, a sign he was already condemned to defeat. But after a nightmare at the oche saw him bow out of the tournament, the 30-year-old admitted he was badly aching and in need of a rest. He said: “Today was one of those days right from the start when I thought, ‘Phew, it’s going to be difficult today. “It sounds stupid coming from a 30-year-old, but I got up this morning and my bones were aching. “Because I don’t like flying, we stayed here in England from the 15th – it’s just difficult to stay here for almost three weeks, partly because of the hard beds. “I usually travel a lot, but this is something else. Staying in one hotel all the time is really difficult. “Nathan Aspinall’s walk-on is also my girlfriend’s favorite walk-on, so it’s very difficult for me to switch on after the walk-on. PDCPietreczko struggled in all aspects of his game unlike Aspinall[/caption] “But I didn’t lose focus or concentration at that moment because you immediately concentrate on the game afterwards. The situation is immediately out of my head.” Pietreczko was ultimately dumped out of the tournament in routine fashion, but has had a positive year and firmly keeps his place on the PDC tour. Meanwhile for his conqueror Aspinall, he has now set up a mouth-watering clash with teenage prodigy and friend Luke Littler. The quarter-final clash on New Year’s Day promises to be a barnstormer, with Littler the favourite but Aspinall a real experience and game threat. A win for Aspinall could see him equal his best ever runs at Ally Pally, where he has previously reached the semi final on two occasions in 2019 and 2020. But ‘The Asp’ believes he has not received the respect he deserves for putting together a fine run at this year’s showpiece event. Aspinall will now face friend Littler after ousting Pietreczko comfortablyGetty He said at the post-match press conference: “You underestimate me, all of you. I never get any respect. “I’m not going to go all Joe Cullen here, but I always get written off, no one ever talks about me, and I’m a two-time major champion and a fantastic dart player. “I’ve come through so much, come back fighting and keep proving people wrong time and time again. “It’s up to me to go up on that stage and prove you lot wrong who write me off.” Tune into talkSPORT 2 for coverage of the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship, as we bring you exclusive live commentary from Alexandra Palace. Listen via our web player, app, on DAB, or through your smart speaker.
Ricardo Pietreczko has claimed his body was in a bad way during his defeat to Nathan Aspinall.
The German star had impressed at the PDC World Championship, and was expected to compete in a mouth-watering contest with No.12 seed Aspinall in the round of 16.
But the showdown failed to live up to the imagination, as Pietreczko looked a shadow of himself at the oche.
He fell to a 4-0 straight sets whitewash defeat, and barely mustered any momentum in the match, averaging just 78.46 on the night.
Pietreczko even lost ten straight legs at one point in the match, but couldn’t contain his smiling as things simply didn’t go his way.
‘Pikachu’ attracted attention for his behaviour on stage where he interacted with fans and even cheered Aspinall’s check-outs, a sign he was already condemned to defeat.
But after a nightmare at the oche saw him bow out of the tournament, the 30-year-old admitted he was badly aching and in need of a rest.
He said: “Today was one of those days right from the start when I thought, ‘Phew, it’s going to be difficult today.
“It sounds stupid coming from a 30-year-old, but I got up this morning and my bones were aching.
“Because I don’t like flying, we stayed here in England from the 15th – it’s just difficult to stay here for almost three weeks, partly because of the hard beds.
“I usually travel a lot, but this is something else. Staying in one hotel all the time is really difficult.
“Nathan Aspinall’s walk-on is also my girlfriend’s favorite walk-on, so it’s very difficult for me to switch on after the walk-on.
“But I didn’t lose focus or concentration at that moment because you immediately concentrate on the game afterwards. The situation is immediately out of my head.”
Pietreczko was ultimately dumped out of the tournament in routine fashion, but has had a positive year and firmly keeps his place on the PDC tour.
Meanwhile for his conqueror Aspinall, he has now set up a mouth-watering clash with teenage prodigy and friend Luke Littler.
The quarter-final clash on New Year’s Day promises to be a barnstormer, with Littler the favourite but Aspinall a real experience and game threat.
A win for Aspinall could see him equal his best ever runs at Ally Pally, where he has previously reached the semi final on two occasions in 2019 and 2020.
But ‘The Asp’ believes he has not received the respect he deserves for putting together a fine run at this year’s showpiece event.
He said at the post-match press conference: “You underestimate me, all of you. I never get any respect.
“I’m not going to go all Joe Cullen here, but I always get written off, no one ever talks about me, and I’m a two-time major champion and a fantastic dart player.
“I’ve come through so much, come back fighting and keep proving people wrong time and time again.
“It’s up to me to go up on that stage and prove you lot wrong who write me off.”
Tune into talkSPORT 2 for coverage of the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship, as we bring you exclusive live commentary from Alexandra Palace. Listen via our web player, app, on DAB, or through your smart speaker.
