Kurz aims to be king of German darts

Nico Kurz (Lawrence Lustig, PDC)

Nico Kurz is hoping to be Germany's newest star as he prepares to face Joe Cullen in the second round of the William Hill World Championship on Friday.

The 22-year-old prospect defeated experienced James Wilson and even missed double twelve for a nine-darter on his Alexandra Palace debut.

With around 25 percent of the 85,000 tickets sold for the sport's showpiece event being purchased by German fans - and the action being broadcast live on DAZN and Sport1 - it is the perfect opportunity to shoot his way to stardom. 

Kurz defeated Gary Anderson at the German Darts Masters in Cologne when he played in the World Series of Darts earlier in the season - and is looking for another scalp when he meets Cullen.

"It would be wrong to say I will win but I do believe I have a very good chance," said Kurz.

"We all have a chance of beating each other in this tournament and that showed when I played James.

"I played my game and he didn't play his but it felt amazing to win - I was so proud of myself.

"I wasn't thinking about hitting the nine-darter. I was just thinking about winning the leg. 

"It was something new and different because it the World Championship but I tried not to think too much about it and came out on the stage. 

"It helped a lot to play at the World Series because that was a great experience on the big stage."

Kurz hopes to follow in the footsteps of the likes of German number one Max Hopp, who is also in action on Friday evening, byt becoming an established name in the sport. 

He added: "I will try Q-School but I know I will always have to be at my best game to win a card. It is my dream to become a full-time professional player."