A bizarre incident occurred during Monday’s afternoon session of the PDC World Darts Championship, where a player snapped his dart.
The interruption occurred during a first-round clash between Alan Soutar and Kai Gotthardt when Gotthardt’s dart snapped halfway through the opening set.
The match, live from the iconic Alexandra Palace, had been progressing smoothly until Gotthardt encountered the unexpected issue.
Trailing 2-1 in the first set against Scotland’s Soutar, Gotthardt found himself unable to continue as he was left with only two functioning darts.
Realising the problem, Gotthardt alerted referee George Noble and opponent Soutar, prompting a temporary halt to the game.
SNAPPED DART STOPS PLAY ❌
A broken dart for Kai Gotthardt 😲 pic.twitter.com/OqaypXSvVZ
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) December 16, 2024
Gotthardt was forced to leave the stage in search of a replacement set of darts, an unusual situation that drew murmurs and laughter from the ‘Ally Pally’ crowd.
While waiting for Gotthardt to resolve the issue, Soutar patiently waited on stage for an awkward number of minutes. The crowd reacted with good humour to the delay, with chants and cheers filling the pause in play.
It seemed to give the Scot an early edge as the world No. 50 claimed the opening set. However, Gotthardt responded strongly, taking the next two sets and putting himself within striking distance of the second round.
The deficit proved insurmountable for Soutar, as debutant Gotthardt wrapped up the match in the third set with an unconventional D3, 1, D2 checkout to seal the victory.
Gotthardt is now set to face Stephen Bunting in the second round on Friday.
A real collectors item… 😂
Kai Gotthardt somehow snapped his barrel in half during the opening set against Alan Soutar pic.twitter.com/QZNn8bASOy
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 16, 2024
