Category: Darts

The Guardian's Jonathan Liew visits the World Darts Championships at Alexandra Palace to explore how the game went from the working men's clubs to the world stage, what the next 10 years looks like, and how it continues to have a ever-developing cultural impact around the world

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• World No 26 lost 3-2 to 20-year-old Charlie Manby

• Menzies apologises saying ‘it was the wrong thing to do’

Cameron Menzies saw red and punched the table in frustration following his 3-2 defeat by Charlie Manby in the first round of the World Darts Championship.

Scot Menzies led twice in the game as he took the opening set before going 2-1 up, but the 20-year-old from Huddersfield fought back to take it into a deciding set before he finally pinned double four, after both players missed several darts at double.

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• World No 4 edges out Sebastian Bialecki 3-2 in first round

• Kumar becomes first Indian to win at the tournament

Stephen Bunting survived a scare before the No 4 seed progressed into the second round of the world championship on Sunday.

Bunting, a semi-finalist last year, was taken to a tie-breaker by Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki before edging through 3-2 at Alexandra Palace.

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• Lim beats Jeffrey de Graaf to set up Luke Humphries rematch

• Singaporean beat the future champion in 2020

Paul Lim made World Darts Championship history at Alexandra Palace – and then hoped lightning would strike twice against Luke Humphries.

Lim became the oldest player to win a match at the event as the Singaporean, who turns 72 next month, defeated Jeffrey de Graaf 3-1 to extend his own record set in 2020. On that occasion he overcame Humphries and the pair are reunited in round two after the world No 2 produced eight 180s in crushing Ted Evetts 3-1.

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The world No 4’s entrance to the song Titanium has become an iconic moment in darts, but while he loves the attention what he really wants is the world title

“There’s a lot of people playing darts who haven’t got no character,” Stephen Bunting says in a matter-of-fact tone, his voice still a little croaky from the cold that has been laying waste to him for the last week. “They’re boring to watch. And that’s probably why they’ll never be in the Premier League. You need to have a personality as well as being at the top of your game. You need to balance both.”

And frankly, has anyone in the sport made a better fist of it than Bunting himself? A few years ago, the man they call The Bullet was little more than a capable journeyman on the fringes of the elite, as well-known for his resemblance to Peter Griffin from Family Guy as for his darts. Now he is the world No 4 and a multiple tournament winner, with a loyal and passionate following that – in its most spine-tingling moments – seems to transcend sport itself.

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Dutch rising star has gone from not knowing ‘how to grip the dart’ to a dark horse for the PDC world championship

It’s the deciding leg of the European Championship final. Gian van Veen, the 23-year-old from the Netherlands chasing his first major title, has just missed two match darts to win 11-9. Luke Humphries, world No 1 at the time, starts the final leg with a 140.

“Oh, you’ve blown it here,” Van Veen replies when asked to describe his internal monologue during that moment in October. “Luke Humphries is not going to crumble under this pressure. Maybe it was a negative thought. But it also released some pressure for me, in a way.”

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Defending champion is a phenomenon and the indisputable titan of the game with a sense of inevitability at the Alexandra Palace extravaganza

You will be seeing plenty of Batman and Wonder Woman over the coming weeks; Spiderman, Mr Incredible, perhaps even a Ninja Turtle or two. Yes, Christmas at Alexandra Palace is always a good time for spotting superheroes. But only one of them will not be wearing a costume.

In fact, it is when he is in his normal human clothes, doing normal human things, that Luke Littler looks at his most incongruous. Standing with his fellow Manchester United fans in the away end at Molineux. Proudly brandishing a fresh driving certificate after finally passing his test. And it is in these more unguarded moments that you remember that the man they call The Nuke, the phenomenon who has detonated the sport of darts, is really still just a kid, a regular lad from Warrington with a deeply irregular talent.

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The former world No 1 shares how a traumatic year has shaped him as a darts player and a father and insists he can recapture his glory days at the world championship

“I can be a miserable bastard sometimes,” Michael van Gerwen says with a grin and a shrug as he tries to explain his new burst of optimism after a horribly testing year. “But I can also be quite positive. If you asked me this question a month ago, and we did this interview then, you would find me a bit different to today. But I feel good now even if, 100%, this has been a very tough year for me both on and off the oche.”

Rather than being miserable, the 36-year-old is amiable company – which seems remarkable as in 2025 he has been through a divorce after 17 years with his wife, Daphne, witnessed the devastating effect of cancer on his father, endured intense scrutiny in the Dutch media, and struggled to regain his once imperious form with the arrows.

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• Littler defeats Luke Humphries 16-11 in final

• Teenager seals top spot with semi-final win

Luke Littler celebrated becoming the world No 1 by winning the Grand Slam of Darts. The 18-year-old’s ascent to the top of the rankings was confirmed with his semi-final win against Danny Noppert earlier on Sunday.

That victory set up another titanic battle in the final with his great rival Luke Humphries, who he replaced at the summit. Littler flexed his muscles with a 16-11 triumph to become just the fourth man to defend the title in Wolverhampton.

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• World champion out of Players Championship in Wigan

• Littler appeared to miss 11am registration deadline

Luke Littler missed Wednesday’s Players Championship event in Wigan after a traffic jam caused him to be late for registration.

It is understood the 18-year-old was stuck in road congestion and did not arrive in time for the strict 11am deadline. The reigning world champion has already qualified for next month’s finals in Minehead, after winning Players Championship 32 earlier this month.

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