THUD, thud, thud.
When the first dart hit the board I thought ‘Oh, that’s different!’
Like a heartbeat that echoed around the arena, the landings of the arrows pricked my ears and told my eyes to focus on the stage and screens rather than remaining captivated by fans wearing dart boards and traffic cones as hats.
Having watched a considerable amount of darts on television over the past 18 months, inspired by the rise and rise of one Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler from nearby Warrington, I thought it was about time I experienced this resurgent sport and all of its craziness live.
And other than absorbing the building atmosphere and observing the craftmanship involved in lining up the pints on table-tops, it was that dominant, deep, earthy, rich, smooth ‘thud, thud, thud’ which first grabbed my attention and told me ‘I’m here, not watching at home with my feet up on the pouffe.’
I obviously realised there would be differences to being at the darts in person rather than glued to the television, but that impact on my senses was not one of them.
It may seem such a small thing, but that Michelin-star sound quality of a dart penetrating tightly packed sisal fibres just does not come across the same on TV and hearing it for the first time set my heart racing for what was to come.
And the tone was set when Polly James, a member of the Sky Sports presentation team, arrived on stage at the M&S Arena in Liverpool to announce: “This is the biggest party in sport anywhere on the planet and you’re here to see it live.”
A lot to live up to then!
Before the TV cameras started rolling live, an effort was made to get the growing crowd involved with catchy music familiar to the darts scene and various short challenge matches played on the stage.
One participant named only as Olivia, who won a competition prior to the event, got her chance in the spotlight and thanks to scoring 106 in six darts she bagged a trip to Las Vegas courtesy of event sponsors BetMGM.
Our very first 𝗩𝗜𝗩𝗔 𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗦 𝗩𝗘𝗚𝗔𝗦 winner 🥳
— BetMGM UK (@BetMGMUK) April 24, 2025
Witness the moment Olivia won herself a trip to Las Vegas courtesy of BetMGM 🇺🇸
We hope you have the best time! ✈️ #BetMGMDarts #LoveTheDarts pic.twitter.com/cQWhcziDgQ
Most fun for me though was doing a bit of star spotting as the crowd numbers grew – the Blues Brothers were in town, Ali G times two, Shrek, video game characters like Mario and a group of American footballers to name but a few.
There were others in fancy dress costumes that looked great, but I had no idea who they were trying to be!
It gave me a chuckle watching the antics with beer, as groups were filling every inch of table space with pints they had lined up - partly because it was cheaper to buy in bulk rather than make separate visits to the bar, and no doubt to avoid queues that would cause them to miss some of the action as the night unfolded.
For the record, a pint of Kronenbourg was £8.50, two for £15, four for £28. Alternatively, a small glass of wine was £7.70, a spirit and mixer was £7.70 and there were deals for those too.
If you didn’t want alcohol, a fizzy pop would have set you back £3.75, water £2.50, tea or coffee £3.30.
For those who were peckish, a burger was £8.50 or £15/£10 with an alcoholic or soft drink.
None of it looked easy to eat or drink when wearing a dart board or traffic cone as a hat, or when thrusting the provided foam hands or 180 signs into the air at appropriate moments!
Back to the action on stage though, and the lights, noise and energy were all ramped up and everything was set for blast-off.
After Emma Paton – who must be one of the best sport presenters on TV - previewed the night’s matches with ex-players and regular Sky pundits Wayne Mardle and John Part (very much a rose between two thorns), it was time for John McDonald to introduce the first two players.
Up first were world number one Luke Humphries and Nathan Aspinall, not only famed for his darting grittiness but for having the best walk-on song, and I knew that his arrival was about to lift the roof off the place and provide one of the highlights of the night.
Players walk a fenced-off corridor through the crowd to get to the stage and they usually pause a couple of times to sign autographs or pose for photographs on phones of fans who have congregated several layers deep to get close to their heroes.
While Aspinall was making his entry, ‘Mr Brightside’ by American rock band The Killers went viral around the arena and I had goosebumps as I took it all in.
Everyone was on their feet, singing loud and proud whatever they thought were the right lyrics, saluting the skies with their arms and revelling in a moment where everything just suddenly felt right in the world.
I turned around to soak it all up like a sponge and there was a fella next to me wearing a horse’s head doing pirouettes while clinging on to his mate for dear life!
Aspinall arrived on stage to milk the audience like the pro that he is, orchestrate the serenade and when the music was suddenly switched off to leave the crowd singing by themselves I got to feel the full spine-tingling beauty of being there rather than watching from home as the 8,000-plus audience came together as one.
A little later, local hero Stephen Bunting's walk-on to 'Titanium' brought another passionate electrical surge to the arena, another 'pinch me' moment.
The Home Town Hero 🦸
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 24, 2025
An incredible welcome for Stephen Bunting as he makes his entrance in Liverpool 🙌 pic.twitter.com/omkBSsVkEA
How on earth the players can regather themselves, keep their hands dry with the adrenalin pumping, hold back the nerves, shut out the noise and camera gaze to then go and do what they do with such precision is beyond unbelievable.
And, having now experienced darts live, it is all the more mindblowing to think this is what Warrington’s darting prodigy Littler did as a 16-year-old in a similar setting to reach the World Championship Final on debut in 2024.
> READ: Why it's too easy to say Littler's pulled out of German event due to booing
Thud, thud, thud.
Aspinall and Humphries got the night’s first quarter-final underway and it was time for me to digest whether or not watching darts on a big screen alongside thousands of like-minded others was as good, or better, than being in the living room back home.
Don’t get me wrong, the players were on stage in front of us doing their thing but of course it was impossible to see where the darts landed without directing eyes to one of the four big screens.
There was no commentary, like you have on TV, but the total score was called out at the end of each player’s visit to the oche.
But being there, I felt every ‘ooh, aggh’ of the audience involvement, could see the players interacting with the crowd between visits to the oche and I never got bored of the eruptions and celebrations for every ‘one hundred and eightyyyyyyyy’ thrown.
Whenever a player started a leg with a 180 I felt anticipation levels rise for the hopes of a magical nine-dart finish that would have sent the room bananas, though the holy grail of this sport was not achieved on that night.
World champion Littler was a pantomime villain on the night, being a Manchester United fan in front of a Liverpool crowd.
He expected the boos and got them aplenty, yet he shrugged them off to take a 4-0 lead against Dutch superstar Michael van Gerwen in the night’s second quarter-final.
LITTLER SLAMS THE DOOR! 🚪
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 24, 2025
Sublime from Littler as he silences the Liverpool crowd with a 160 checkout to lead 5-3.
Look at that reaction 🤣
📺 https://t.co/CxOorrFXK9 #PLDarts25 pic.twitter.com/V3hgITqKbC
How he ended up losing a race to be the first to win six legs remains a mystery but the Liverpudlians lapped it up.
VAN GERWEN STUNS LITTLER!!
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 24, 2025
Now that is some comeback from Michael van Gerwen... 🤯
From 4-0 down, he powers back to beat Luke Littler 6-5 and set up a Semi-Final clash against Luke Humphries.
📺 https://t.co/CxOorrFXK9 #PLDarts25 pic.twitter.com/5E0Y4NI6G3
In the end, and for the record, the night belonged to Welsh ace Gerwyn Price.
He defeated Humphries 6-4 in the final for his third victory of this weekly touring 16-round series that ends with a play-offs night for the top four on the league table at the O2 Arena in London on May 29.
PRICE WINS NIGHT TWELVE! 🏆#PLDarts25 pic.twitter.com/pk9a05tkdx
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 24, 2025
The matches on the night seemed to pass by quickly, in fact the whole event appeared to fly by and as the saying goes ‘time flies when you’re having fun’.
Even though my studious enjoyment of being dazzled by the players’ incredible abilities at precision throwing, not to mention their amazing arithmetic skills, was distracted at times by being absorbed in everything that was going on, I left feeling as though I wanted more.
And, to me, it was all a reminder that although there is enjoyment, as well as convenience and penny-saving, to watching live sport on television, there is nothing better than experiencing it live and allowing yourself to become submersed and almost overwhelmed by the sights and sounds that bring our senses to life.
While there seemed to be far more groups than couples in attendance, ages went from primary school youngsters to pensioners, and everyone I observed seemed to be having great fun.
This definitely felt like a treat, by the time you account for the impact on your pocket for one night's merriment with ticket prices typically starting at around £40, but I certainly learned in Liverpool that I need to treat myself more often.
MY NIGHT AT THE DARTS IN VIDEO AND PICTURES:
Results: 2025 BetMGM Premier League Darts Night 12, Thursday April 24, M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
Quarter-Finals
Luke Humphries 6-3 Nathan Aspinall
Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Luke Littler
Rob Cross 6-1 Stephen Bunting
Gerwyn Price 6-2 Chris Dobey
Semi-Finals
Luke Humphries 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Gerwyn Price 6-2 Rob Cross
Final
Gerwyn Price 6-4 Luke Humphries
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