LONDON (AP) — Luke Littler, a 16-year-old on debut at the World Darts Championship, came within one match of winning the sport’s biggest prize and a jackpot of 500,000 pounds ($630,000).
But that wasn’t even close to being the strangest sight at what is probably the most colorful event in the British sporting calendar.
For three weeks from December through January, it is party time at the Alexandra Palace — or “Ally Pally” — in London, when grown men dress like babies and revelers turn up in ever more outrageous costumes.
In Wednesday’s epic final, which was won by world No. 1 Luke Humphries, fans came dressed as everything from the characters from Alice in Wonderland to pop and rock stars like Elton John, David Bowie and Michael Jackson.
A woman could be seen limbo dancing between a group of men dressed as traffic cones and the sight of someone wearing a foam dartboard on their head was never too far away.
It all adds to an occasion that feels distinctly British as fans joined together to celebrate one of the country’s most beloved sports.
As well as the thrilling action on the stage, it is the atmosphere generated by the raucous crowds that has created such a cult phenomenon. Around 90,000 fans are estimated to attend over the course of the event.
Likely helped by the huge pitchers of beer that slosh around the room, the crowds chant about their love of the sport as much as any individual competitor.
“Stand up if you love the darts,” they sing, while the names of two former Ivory Coast international soccer players are possibly chanted more than any of the actual darts stars on show.
Yaya and Kolo Toure’s names are sung to the tune of “No Limit” — a track by 1990s Eurodance act 2 Unlimited. If it sounds random, it’s because it is — yet it all feeds into the wackiness of the whole occasion.
Littler would have become the youngest-ever winner of the tournament and his unlikely run saw him make front-page headlines around the world and pick up celebrity fans.
It also spread the word about darts to a wider audience and that may see even more fans turn up when the next World Darts Championship starts again in December.
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