SOUL OF SPORT: Darting drama, drinking and wild and wacky costumes light up Alexandra Palace at the start of this year’s World Darts Championship – with ANDY HOOPER on the ground to capture the chanting and colour
- Every Monday on Monday, our Soul of Sport series takes readers behind the scenes of top sporting events
- ANDY HOOPER was at Alexandra Palace to capture the action from the start of the World Darts Championship
- Reigning champion Michael Smith survived a scare as thousands of spectators drank and sang songs
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Welcome back to the Soul of Sport. For our latest installment of the series, ANDY HOOPER traveled to Alexandra Palace to capture the action from the first two days of the World Darts Championship.
The festive event is a favorite among darts fanatics, with thousands of spectators descending on the famous venue to drink, sing songs and take in all the drama as the sport's best players click their horns.
On the opening night, reigning champion Michael Smith survived the scare to beat Kevin Doets after having to fight back from behind against the world number 66.
As is traditional, attendees wore fancy dress, with costumes ranging from Mario to royal appearances. Countless pints were then guzzled, while after each maximum a sea of 180 placards were thrust into the air.
Our cameraman was on site to capture the best moments using Nikon Z8 and Z9 cameras with 24-70mm, 70-200mm and 400mm lenses.
Thousands of darts fanatics donned wild and crazy costumes for the opening day of the World Darts Championship
A series of daring looks were on display at Alexandra Palace as the famous tournament returned over the festive period
There was merchandise for sale in the venue, with one jersey declaring that this was drinking season
A large Ally Pally sign outside proved to be the perfect spot for spectators to gather and take a series of photos
Outside the doors, lines of people adorned their costumes as guards conducted thorough checks
Two people wearing flat caps and dressed as characters from the TV show Peaky Blinders were seen having a conversation
Two men dressed as a nurse and Mario respectively posed for a photo taken by another individual in a Luigi costume
One audience member proudly shouted out the number of days until he became a father while wearing green Paddy Power trousers
One man bizarrely had a cocktail poured over his white shirt as he lay on the floor in the room during the session
A group came dressed as the Grinch and gathered for a photo at the bar, while others carried large dartboards
Michael Smith was spotted during his post-match interview with Sky Sports as the crowd chatted during the break
Beer was once again the drink of choice, with empty cups lining the length of the large tables on the ground floor
Each maximum was greeted with a sea of signs decorated with the number 180 printed aloft in large yellow letters
Stowe Buntz wore a bright red shirt for his match against Kevin Doets, although he ultimately lost in straight sets
PDC veteran Simon Whitlock, also a World Cup winner, was in action on the second day wearing his now signature braids
Smith was forced to bravely fight back from two sets down to one down to beat Doets and book his place in the third round
The eye-catching 180 signs were held up dozens of times over the first two nights, with the maximums flowing
The best costumes included large ketchup bottles, with one audience member in particular snapping with a comic sign in hand
Smith enjoyed the crowd's applause as he began his walk-on ahead of the first match of his title defense
Smith roared with joy after beating world No. 1 Doets, avoiding the tournament's most shocking early upsets
