Luke Littler attacked by wasp during World Darts Championship final

Luke Littler’s dominance at the start of the World Darts Championship final against Dutchman Gian van Veen was disturbed only by a wasp in his face during the fifth set of the match.

Littler was in the middle of a visit to the oche when he stopped and stepped away, flapping furiously at his face. The match was paused while officials tried to drive the wasp off the stage.

Littler, the reigning world champion, was leading the match at the time and kept his composure to win the set and extend his lead to 4-1 in the best-of-13 final, in a bid to retain the title.

It is not the first time a wasp has interrupted play at this year’s World Championship. Ahead of his first-round match, Jurjen van der Velde caused a stir when he pulled insect repellent from his pocket, liberally spraying the air and himself, much to the crowd's amusement.

Later, Van der Velde was observed wiping his face with a cloth. Tournament organiser, the Professional Darts Corporation, later questioned on X whether the player was "emotional or has sprayed bug spray in his eyes."

This persistent insect has become a recurring, albeit unwelcome, feature of the tournament in recent years, and its presence has made headlines during the opening days of this year's event.

Littler found himself ducking and weaving to avoid the buzzing pest during a post-match interview following his first-round victory over Darius Labanauskas.

The wasp's mischievous antics continued, although Ross Smith remained oblivious to an insect perched on the back of his neck as he threw during his surprising 3-2 defeat to Andreas Harrysson.

Similarly, former world champion Rob Cross failed to notice a wasp on his shoulder during an interview after his 3-0 triumph over Cor Dekker.

More tungsten trouble ensued when Ted Evetts flicked a wasp off his cheek before losing to Luke Humphries, and the insect even got too close to the action, being struck by Nitin Kumar during his historic win over Richard Veenstra.

The Ally Pally wasp continued its disruptive tour as Martin Lukeman appeared to be stung during the opening leg of his match against Max Hopp, which the German ultimately won 3-1.

Later, Dutchman Dirk van Duijvenbode was seen stepping back from the oche during his match against Andy Baetens, keen to maintain his distance from the flying nuisance.

additional reporting by PA