The World Darts Championship final was twice halted in unique circumstances on Saturday evening – though a wasp and then blood – before Luke Littler would go onto claim victory.
Once again this year, the famous ‘Ally Pally wasp’ has reared its head on more than one occasion, and caused chaos during the final between Littler and Gian van Veen.
With the score at 3-1 in sets to The Nuke, the wasp, which has become synonymous with the venue, appeared to attack Littler, causing him to jump back and try and swat it away.
Though he continued to play, it would soon return, with Littler continuing to battle the creature, while Wayne Mardle, on Sky Sports commentary, urged someone to ‘kill it’.
Eventually, the wasp would fly away, with Littler joking after the game that he would call on best friend and I’m A Celebrity winner Angry Ginge, who watched on from hospitality, to deal with it.
‘I will get Ginge to sort the wasp,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘Someone has to put one in here, they don’t come out of nowhere, no chance.’
Luke Littler had to pause during his World Championship triumph to battle the Ally Pally wasp
The presence of the wasp led to fans in attendance singing a chant in its direction, before it disappeared and caused no further disturbances.
The same can’t be said for the game itself, though. In the seventh set, a red spot appeared on the board when Littler was 5-1 up, and it soon became evident that it was due to blood.
Covered by the spot was the No5 segment, but it didn’t put Littler off, with the 18-year-old winning the leg and the sixth set before the board had to be changed. It soon became clear that the blood was caused by an accidental cut to the hand of runner-up van Veen.
Changing the board was Martin Leak, who had written on social media before the game that the board in use was ‘the 125th and final board’ of the competition.
He had also said that the board would not changed mid-game – they are changed after every match – which one fan would later poke fun at, replying: ‘How about now?’ Leak would later share a laughing face emoji in response.
The wasp, meanwhile, made headlines earlier in the tournament when Dutch star Jurjen van der Velde attempted to take matters into his own hands to deal with the bug, but his tearful reaction led to speculation his attempt had backfired.
The famous creature has made headlines this year more than ever with its attacks on players, including the likes of Littler, who was also left ducking and diving on opening night.
Ross Smith also came into contact with the wasp in his first-round match, with the insect seen on the back of his shirt two years after it stung him on stage.
Another halt came later in the match when Littler’s opponent, Gian van Veen, got blood on the board that was being used
Van Veen appeared to accidentally cut himself during the match, which he eventually lost 7-1
Back in 2023, Smith was stung while on stage in the middle of a match before once again being joined by the pest in his post-match interview. ‘There’s the wasp,’ he said at the time. ‘He’s just done me, he’s just stung me. Little b*****d.’
Van der Velde made a fast impression on fans by arriving onto the stage carrying a can of Raid Fly and Wasp Killer.
The Dutchman, 23, draw a laugh from the crowd as he performatively sprayed the product in the air and over his shoulders in an apparent preventative gesture to avoid being stung by the wasp. Later, though, he was seen wiping his face, suggesting the spray had in fact got in his eyes instead.
On the oche, meanwhile, Littler was dominant again as he reeled off seven-straight sets to claim a 7-1 victory over van Veen.
The win means he secured a back-to-back victories, having also claimed the title last year, while he lost in the final to Luke Humphries the year before.
In his post-match interview, he paid tribute to Anthony Joshua while talking to Sky Sports following his car accident in Nigeria.
The 18-year-old said: ‘I have been wanting to say this about what happened with Anthony Joshua. Rest in peace to his friends. Just like he said, the first time was so nice, I had to do it twice.’
