Premier League Darts produced a cracker in Manchester on Thursday as Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler made it back-to-back wins in front of 11,000, but there was no finer moment than when someone in Where’s Wally fancy dress was spotted fighting in the stands.
Luke ‘The Nuke’ produced a great display against Stockport’s Nathan Aspinall in the semi-finals, with the pair of them helping turn the crowd into a choir as a sea of Mancs serenaded the AO Arena to the tune of The Killers, but it was the other semi with Gerwyn Price that produced the biggest highlight of all.
As if things couldn’t get any more quintessentially British than a lot of drunken fans belting out ‘Mr Brightside’, a clip of someone dressed as Where’s Wally scrapping with other supporters as they desperately tried to cling onto their pints has now gone viral.
In typically chaotic fashion for UK crowds, it also happened to unfold just as Gerwyn Price hit the best of the night in the background as the AO was left utterly bouncing.
Can we just say, we have all the respect in the world for the people filming who quickly swivelled the camera to capture Price’s nine-darter and celebrate like nutters – rightly so. Well done to the arena staff who did a good job of defusing the situation as well.
ADVERTISEMENT
Although the runner-up himself shared a post saying the “final was spoilt before a dart was even thrown” and that “change is needed” after a pocket of fans were filmed throwing drinks at each other, we can assure ‘The Iceman’ that most the vast majority were well-behaved and soaking up what he admitted was an “amazing atmosphere”.
While we obviously don’t condone any form of violence and details surrounding how the bust-up began are still unclear, it’s also hard to take a fight involving a life-sized Where’s Wally seriously and fighting at the darts is still a relatively rare occurrence. When we think arrows we just think good vibes.
ADVERTISEMENT
Gezzy can rest assured that it in no way overshadowed what was another blockbuster night involving the very best talents on the circuit. Just look at the scenes.
As for the round itself, not only did Greater Manchester local ‘The Asp‘ do a great job of whipping the crowd up for his home turf match but it was another star showing from the 17-year-old darting superstar from Warrington.
Littler is absolutely one a roll and has taken like a duck to water in his first season in the Premier League, not to mention seemingly living the sports personality dream.
ADVERTISEMENT
His beloved Man United might have conceded two late goals to give up a huge result elsewhere but we’re sure going a point clear at the top of the table helped him get over it soon enough.
A bust-up in the stands or darts’ biggest phenomenon going for an inevitable kebab after his win might not be as iconic as this, but it’s a reminder that we’ll take British sporting culture over all others any day.
Wayne Rooney joins the cast of Gary Neville’s The Overlap
Danny Jones
Wayne Rooney has secured a new job just a few months on from departing as Birmingham City head coach, with the Manchester United and England legend being named as the latest member of The Overlap team.
Set to join the cast of the popular Stick to Football online series alongside the likes of former teammates Gary Neville and Roy Keane, as well as the rest of the recurring panel.
Rooney is also set to feature on various other shows across The Overlap channel, including the likes of their regular fan debates and other interviews with athletes and well-known figures.
They announced the signing in true transfer window fashion as well.
As transfer expert Fabrizio Romano quips in the video, Rooney “has signed an agreement with The Overlap” and is expected to make his debut very soon
‘Wazza’ has appeared as a pundit on Sky Sports in recent weeks and has even been spotted playing some FIFA with comedy YouTuber AngryGinge as part of his pro clubs series, but hasn’t been in a steady role since being sacked as the Birmingham manager at the start of the year.
Having already appeared as a guest in one of the most popular episodes of Stick to Football and clearly sharing a strong chemistry with his old friends – as well as the likes of fellow Scouser Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott and Ian Wright – it looks to be a natural fit for the sport-based channel.
The 38-year-old revealed some pretty interesting details about his playing and managerial career last time around, not to mention some of the other offers he’s had since…
Rooney reiterated during his own interview that his primary focus is still on coaching and finding his next managerial role, but for the time being, he’ll be bringing the insight of another ex-pro to the popular YouTube channel.
Speaking on his latest move, the former striker said, “I’m excited to announce that I will be joining my good mate Gary Neville and the team at The Overlap to appear on the channel across some of their brilliant shows on YouTube and the podcast. I can’t wait to get started”.
With an episode from at least one of their series going out most weeks, you can expect to see the footballing legend back on the channel soon.
Featured Images — The Overlap/Wayne Rooney (via Instagram)
Sport
Manchester City star Erling Haaland is now a playable character in Clash of Clans mobile game
Danny Jones
In yet more proof that footballers just live in an entirely different world from us, Manchester City star Erling Haaland has popped up in the popular mobile game, Clash of Clans – and it’s not just a little cameoeither.
Haaland‘s no stranger to the odd brand deal, so when we saw him cutting a promo for Clash of Clans we weren’t too surprised, but it’s safe to say we weren’t expecting to see footballers pop up in video games besides FIFA (sorry, EA FC) at any point this year.
The big number nine is not just a famous face to help push the already hugely popular mobile strategy and city-building game, they don’t need it; it turns out the lethal goalscorer is now going to be an actual playable character in the latest Clash of Clans update.
He even turned his hand to a bit of acting in the trailer:
As you can see, the 23-year-old stars in the new advert which sees troops appear in his home whilst he’s playing the game before being sucked into the game world.
Starring as the Barbarian King, he’s the first real person to ever feature in the game and will be available through a month-long football-themed seasonal event in-game.
When we stop and think about it, the Norwegian striker is pretty much a perfect fit given his Scandinavian heritage and the obvious Viking theme surrounding the franchise – not to mention the fact that he’s apparently been playing the game since he was 10.
He’s also been dropping a hint or two of late, in case you didn’t pick up on them.
Speaking on the collaboration, Haaland said: “I’ve been a huge fan of the game for a long time and know everything about it, so to appear as an in-game character is really cool”.
As for Finnish developer-publishers Supercell, CoC’s general manager Stuart McGaw said in an official announcement: “When we heard Erling Haaland was a fan of our game and that he wanted to partner with us, it was really a dream scenario.”
Haaland will be available to recruit in the game until 31 May, plus, if players raid his village and take down the Barbarian King himself, they can win additional rewards and a place on the leaderboards.
Danny Jones -
5th April 2024 
