Ally Pally wasp’s reign of terror from first darts raid to stinging Luke Littler
The legend of the Ally Pally wasp keeps growing after the flying fiend targeted Luke Littler on the opening night of the World Darts Championship – here’s how the infamous insect became a darts icon
The infamous Ally Pally wasp was back with a vengeance at the opening night of the World Darts Championship – targeting the biggest name in the sport.
Each year players at Alexandra Palace have to be on constant alert for a flying fiend who terrorises stars at the oche. World champion and teen prodigy Luke Littler found himself in the crosshairs on Thursday evening – and not for the first time – having seemingly been stung by the little menace before.
So who is the Ally Pally wasp? And how did he become a pantomime villain – or cult hero depending on your point of view – at the annual darts spectacular in north London? Here, Daily Star Sport takes a look at the Ally Pally wasp and his chequered past, from his early days as a ‘lucky charm’ to coming back from the dead and wreaking havoc.
A legend is born
The Ally Pally wasp first struck nearly 15 years ago when it stung Adrian Lewis during the 2012 World Darts Championship.
‘Jackpot’, who was the reigning champion, found himself himself two sets down to Nigel Heydon on the opening night in December 2011. But he was stung into action during the interval – literally – and hit back to claim a nail-biting 3-2 victory.
Lewis later revealed a wasp had stung him on his non-throwing hand. He said: “I was 2-0 down and was stung by a wasp in the break and that’s when I thought it’s not my day.” But he added: “I keep fighting until the end.”
The legend of the ‘Ally Pally wasp’ was born – especially as Lewis went on to retain his title thanks to the ‘lucky charm’.
Gentle mercy
After a five-year absence, the Ally Pally wasp just wouldn’t buzz off during Mensur Suljovic’s first round win against Kevin Painter in December 2017.
Serbian-Austrian star Suljovic is nicknamed ‘The Gentle’, but the irritating insect tested his moniker to the limits when it landed on his head, before crawling onto his shirt and refusing to leave.
“Come on Mensur, he’s a 6ft4 beast of a man. Come on now,” joked one commentator, as fans laughed at Suljovic trying to flick the little git away.
“The wasp landed on the back of my head and then flew towards Kevin. It landed on my chest,” Suljovic said after a 3-0 win. “Everyone was like, ‘go on, kill it’. I would never kill it. Never, never. I wasn’t scared. I just didn’t like it on my neck.
“It has never happened to me before in my long career. It didn’t affect my game. Once it went, I kissed it goodbye. It was my lucky wasp.”
Invincible wasp
Gary Anderson was stalked by the rogue pest in December 2018. But the Scot was so focused during his win against Northern Ireland’s Kevin Burness that he didn’t even notice the wasp had landed on his left shoulder.
The referee pointed out the pest to the ‘Flying Scotsman’ before calmly flicking it away. Speaking afterwards, the two-time world champion said: “The ref said ‘you have a wasp on you’. I didn’t believe him and walked away.
“He knocked it off and then stamped on it. The wasp is now dead. If it had stung me, it might have geed me up. That wasp has been kicking around for ages. It has stung players before.”
Back from the dead
After seemingly being killed, the Ally Pally wasp went into hiding. But he re-emerged in December 2020, when Sky Sports shared a clip of the “humongous wasp” attacking Stephen Bunting.
‘The Bullet’ who was two sets down against Paul Lim, had to swerve to avoid the little monster, then ran away just as he was about to throw. But afterwards he fired back to clinch a famous victory.
Sky Sports commentator Wayne Mardle said: “I think it might be some form of wasp, because Stephen was running away from it. If it was a fly… Oh look at that. Oh, oh wow. Run! Dangerous.”
“I tell you what that’s a fair body swerve,” replied his colleague Rod Harrington. To which Mardle joked: “I’ve seen milk turn quicker.”
Referee saves the day
In December 2022, the wasp David Cameron – no, not that one – who even had to call on referee Russ Bray for help.
The Canadian star produced one of the greatest comebacks in the tournament’s history against Richie Edhouse, having been 2-0 down in the third set, as ‘Excalibur’ reeled off six legs in a row to clinch a 3-2 victory.
But his heroics were nearly thwarted by the flying menace, who kept landing on his shoulder, until Bray saved the day.
Afterwards, Cameron revealed how he survived the ordeal. “It [the wasp] might be lucky, but I didn’t even know it was there.” He was one of the lucky ones.
No sport is safe
Just weeks later the Ally Pally wasp was running amok at the Masters snooker in January 2023.
The pesky insect decided to take centre stage mid-frame with Mark Williams at the table in his match versus David Gilbert.
The former world champion did his best to fight off the wasp. After initially trying to bat it away, Williams stood still as it landed, in the words of commentator John Parrott, in a “rather delicate position” near the top of his trousers.
The Welshman, who went on to win 6-2, decided to go on the offensive, aiming a kick at the wasp. The referee suggested he should sit down in the hope the invader would “ignore him”.
After dancing out of the way, Williams picked up a towel and twirled it around, prompting more laughter from the audience.
But Williams wasn’t the wasp’s only target. It settled on a cameraman too and the referee tried to hit it with a towel while saying to the operator “don’t move, don’t move”. Cue more laughter.
Parrott suggested: “I think someone needs to invest in a can of something so they can spray it.”
“Sorry vegans”
After being kicked at by Williams, the flying tormentor turned aggressive, stinging Ross Smith mid-interview in December 2023.
‘Smudger’ had just beat Dutchman Niels Zonneveld 3-1. He was talking about looking forward to tucking into his Christmas dinner including pigs in blankets and said “sorry vegans”, before the animal kingdom hit back.
“There’s the wasp – he’s just done me, he’s just stung me like a goodun. Little bugger,” Smith said. He later explained: “It didn’t just sting me, it stung me three times at the base of my thumb – ping, ping, ping. I hope I don’t go into shock or I’ll look like the Elephant Man.
“Luckily it was on my left hand, not my throwing hand. I don’t know what it is about this place, but it’s only at Ally Pally that wasps seem to have a grudge against darts players.”
Karate chops
Just days later, Scott Williams was forced to fight off the Ally Pally wasp while defeating Aussie star Damon Heta in the last 16.
After turning away to avoid being stung, the Englishman went into fighting mode, throwing several karate chops in order to protect himself.
After showing off his questionable martial arts skills, ‘Shaggy’ managed to regain his composure and beat Heta 4-1.
A Littler mystery
Littler first encountered the Ally Pally wasp in January 2024, during his quarter-final win over Brendan Dolan.
The then 16-year-old seemed to experience discomfort during the match, feeling his elbow, with many speculating the notorious insect was the culprit and had stung him on the arm.
After his win, Littler said: “Was I stung by a wasp? I don’t know. I saw it flying around. I had to focus and get over the line.”
Finally caught
The infamous wasp was finally apprehended after it interrupted Neil Robertson’s first round Masters clash later that month.
Jack Lisowski had earlier been seen swatting at it with his cue during his win over world champion Luca Brecel. Despite its brush with death, the wasp came back for more, and gatecrashed Robertson’s encounter with Barry Hawkins.
Recklessly, it landed on the table mid-match, at which point Robertson grabbed his glass in order to try and trap it.
Referee Rob Spencer insisted he do the dirty work, to which ‘the Thunder From Down Under’ replied: “I’m from Australia, we have spiders. I’m used to it!”
Fans cheered as Spencer popped the glass over the pest before slipping some paper underneath and carrying it outside.
But once again, the pesky critter escaped from captivity…
Wasp hair to stay
Callan Rydz had a hair-raising experience with the wasp in December 2024 during his fourth round clash with Robert Owen.
The insect nestled in his hair and remained perched there for several trips to the oche before finally taking flight. Rydz even managed to score a 180 before the wasp buzzed off.
One fan said: “Knew Rydz’s hair looked like a nest, the wasp has moved in!”
The Geordie star held on for the victory – while also facing chants referencing his “s*** hair”.
Speaking afterwards, he said: “I’ve had worse off loads of people back home. My best friends, they rip the mick out of us all the time. The crowd won me that game, I didn’t win it,” he said.
Rydz added: “I love the banter with them and I think they won me this game, I didn’t win it through darts, so I’ve got to thank them.”
A sting in the tale
Littler started his title defence on Thursday night with a far-from comfortable victory over Darius Labanauskas, eventually triumphing 3-0, before having to dodge an attack from the airborne enemy.
Clearly not everyone was a fan of Littler’s performance as the villainous Ally Pally wasp made its first appearance of the year, forcing the world champion to duck and dodge out of the way during his post-match interview.
Sky Sports’ Polly James even joined in to help the 18-year-old star avoid being stung and compose himself once again.
Littler was asked about his altercation with the wasp following his win, telling talkSPORT: “I saw it in the second set, or halfway through the first, I can’t remember and then it just disappeared.
“I was like, ‘yeah, it’s gone’. Then as soon as the interview comes, it comes back, but managed to dodge it.”
One thing is for sure, we haven’t seen the last of the Ally Pally wasp.
