David Munyua won an army of fans after his heroic first round win in the World Darts Championship – and his rescuing of the infamous Ally Pally wasp. And now the Kenyan has signed a deal with your Daily Star
Wasp whisperer David Munyua has vowed to sting the sporting world with another darts giant-killing – backed by the Daily Star.
The Kenyan vet won legions of fans worldwide after his against-all-odds World Darts Championship opening round victory, during which he snatched the Ally Pally wasp off his face and stuffed it into his pocket as a good luck charm.
And you can put your shirt on him swatting aside another top star in the second round – because we have.
The Daily Star has sponsored his shirt for his clash with Dutch world No40 Kevin Doets in front of another sell-out 3,500-strong crowd.
We stepped in after our army of readers contacted us, saying what a buzz they got from the 30-year-old rank outsider’s thrilling 3-2 first round victory over Belgian world No18 Mike de Decker, who started 1-66 odds-on favourite.
One of the highlights came when David coolly clutched the wasp that has tormented the tournament off his right cheek and tucked it into his pocket.
After he won, he released it to ‘go, go, go, go spread the good news’.
On the eve of African darts’ biggest match, he thanked the Daily Star for its support – and said he hopes the sneaky stinger shows up again as a good omen.
He told us: “It’s amazing to have such a sponsor and partner for me into my next match.”
In a personal message to our readers he added: “I want to thank them for what they have done and made this African player a happy one.”
David, who only took up darts three years ago, squeezes in practice between treating sick cows and had never left Kenya before the tournament started, said he was stunned by the impact of his victory.
Kenyan president William Samoei Ruto messaged him his congratulations on making history, adding: “The nation stands behind you. Bring the trophy home.”
Munyua said: “I didn’t expect this – my country, my president and everyone around the world.
“It makes me believe my country is with me. It will push our sport ahead. I’m very very proud.”
Asked about the impact of the wasp David said: “It definitely brought me good luck. When he was with me I felt comfortable.”
He said, though he was finding London ‘wet’ on his first visit, it was the ‘capital of the darts world’ and playing at the Ally Pally was a dream.
“I can’t explain but I never expected the crowd to be on my side like this,” he said.
“What a memory.”
Asked how he would control his nerves in today’s match he said: “Cause I love this game and it is loving me back.”
He said he had no reason to fear his opponent.
“I played against de Decker and he is 18 in the world so Kevin is just another player to me,” he added.
The keen Chelsea fan hopes to stay in the tournament as long as possible so he can fulfil another dream of watching his football heroes play at Stamford Bridge.
Opponent Doets admitted he was feeling ‘a bit of extra pressure’ playing the part-timer.
“Of course David is a great player but in my mind I’m the better player,” he said.
“This is the type of game you want. This is the draw you want in the second round if you want to go further in the tournament.”
Dann Korori, co-founder of Sirua Darts, the official affiliate to the sport’s association in Kenya, said Munyua’s performance in reaching the second round was already ‘massive’.
“It’s been great for the country and for the continent because we also have players coming from the near countries. All of them are happy to be part of this journey. This is massive,” he said.
“He plays well with the fans behind him so it was a good stage for him. I think the fans motivated him a lot. The opportunity was there. He took it.”
Korori said it was a challenge for Munyua to balance his full-time job as a vet and part-time role as a darts legend.
“Last week we were playing the Nairobi Darts Masters. He qualified for the knockouts,” he said.
“Then he told me, ‘oh tomorrow morning I have to attend to a few cows then I’ll make it here by 10’. That is his full-time job. But then in the local pub they play all night.”
Munyua is Kenya’s first-ever representative at the world championship.
The nation’s main sports are football and athletics. But Korori reckons Munyua’s success could spark a darts frenzy.
“It’s something that has been cooking and we were just waiting for that one moment for this to blow up,” he said.
“Now everyone is on it. I believe in the next one or two years, we should fill an Ally Pally.”