Hot weather combined with soaring temperatures inside venues attracting bigger crowds due to the sport’s soaring popularity is being blamed for attracting swarms of flies
The world’s top darts stars are in a right flap – because they are being attacked by flies. Players at the world championship have been fending off the famous Ally Pally wasp for years.
But now they are facing new flying foe at tournaments across Europe – the common fly. Hot weather combined with soaring temperatures inside venues attracting bigger crowds due to the sport’s soaring popularity is being blamed for the swarms.
Air conditioning is often switched off as it can alter a dart’s flight. English ace Cam Crabtree said toastie tournament venues were turning into ‘fly central’.
The world No69 was blitzed playing two recent Players Championship events in Hildesheim, Germany. Crabtree, 22, said conditions inside the city’s Halle 39 became almost unbearable as he suffered a couple of early exits.
He said on TikTok : “When it is really warm in the venue you just get eight million flies. So if you eat anything there is a fly in your food.
“If you drink anything there is a fly in your cup. If you are trying to throw there is probably a fly on the board.
“That place is like fly central. It is disgusting.”
He said there was little darts chiefs could do to halt the invasion and players just had to put up with it.
“That makes them sound bad but what can they do?,” the arrows ace added.
“If you put fans on it will blow the darts.
“When they sell the drinks they have ice. So if you want some ice you can get some ice. That is about it.
“But there is not really anything they can do. That isn’t anything bad on their part.”
The Ally Pally wasp has become a notorious pest at the world championships at London’s Alexandra Palace.
This year Luke Littler, 19, had to fight it off on the opening night on his way to back-to-back world titles.
While Kenyan vet David Munyua coolly plucked one from his face and put it in his pocket during his first-round victory over Belgian Mike De Decker – one of the biggest shocks in darts history.
Munyua, 30, who was sponsored by the Daily Star, said he kept it as a good luck charm before releasing it later to ‘go, go, go, go spread the good news’ of his triumph which earned him the nickname ‘The Wasp Whisperer’.
Boffins said hot conditions inside the venue attracted out-of-season wasps – and flies were lured in by the warmth too.
World No6 James Wade, 43, said events should be postponed if conditions start to affect matches.
Speaking after the European Darts Open in Leverkusen, Germany, last month where several players struggled, he said: “I think it gets to a point where the organisation needs to respect the dart players a little bit and moving forwards, shouldn’t have to play in heat like that.
“There are dart players that are entertaining the nation. Then they are expected to go out there and play in that. That is not fair. It isn’t right I don’t think. Postpone it.”