Florian Hempel (born 10 April 1990) is a German professional darts player and former handball player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.
Hempel began his sporting career in handball, playing as a goalkeeper for Dessau-RoÃÂlauer HV, where he made his professional debut in 2010, and later played for . Achieving little success, Hempel quit the sport and began playing darts. He made his PDC European Tour debut in the 2019 Dutch Darts Masters, and gained his tour card in 2021. He has since qualified for four World Championships, reaching the last 32 on two occasions.
Born in Dessau, East Germany, Hempel was a goalkeeper in handball, beginning his career with SG Kühnau, before moving to Dessau-RoÃÂlauer HV in the 2010âÂÂ11 2. Handball-Bundesliga season. This proved to be his only appearance in the division, and made a further two appearances in the third tier. In 2016, Hempel ended his handball career in Cologne with , where he had moved to advance his educational studies; he eventually qualified as a fitness coach and nutritionist.
Hempel began playing darts in his flat in 2017, and in 2018 quit his job, registered for unemployment benefits, and took on darts as a full-time job.
On his PDC European Tour debut at the Dutch Darts Masters in May 2019, he whitewashed Ryan Harrington 6âÂÂ0. Hempel lost to Simon Whitlock 6âÂÂ3 in the second round.
Having previously attempted to gain a Tour Card in both 2018 and 2020, Hempel won a PDC Tour Card at 2021 European Q-School, winning the event 3 final. In March, he withdrew from the UK Open due to family reasons. In April, he completed his first nine-dart finish during a European Super League whitewash victory over Marco Obst.
Hempel made his PDC televised debut in October at the 2021 European Championship, eliminating reigning champion Peter Wright 6âÂÂ3. The following week, he reached his first semi-final on the PDC Pro Tour before losing there 7âÂÂ3 to Michael Smith. Ahead of his PDC World Darts Championship debut, Hempel featured as a guest commentator on Sport1 for the 2021 Grand Slam of Darts. During the 2022 PDC World Darts Championship, Hempel caused a "major upset" when he defeated fifth seed Dimitri Van den Bergh in the second round, averaging 98.37, and described it as "madness". He would go on to lose 4âÂÂ1 to Australia's Raymond Smith in the third round.
At the 2024 World Championship, Hempel faced Dylan Slevin in the first round. Slevin won the first set and hit a 167 checkout in the second set, but Hempel managed to mount a comeback to win the match 3âÂÂ1. In the second round, Hempel defeated Dimitri Van den Bergh 3âÂÂ2, despite losing the first two sets. The match was a repeat of the 2022 second round tie which Hempel also won. In the third round, Hempel was whitewashed 0âÂÂ4 by Stephen Bunting.
PDC European Tour
PDC Players Championships