"Did I consider walking away? Yes, a few times" – Huw Ware doubted whether he would be accepted as a gay referee in the darts world

Huw Ware has admitted he was on the verge of quitting darts several times before making history on the sport’s biggest stage: Alexandra Palace.

The 32-year-old Welshman became the first openly gay referee to take charge of a World Darts Championship final in early 2025. He was on stage for the title decider between Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen — a milestone both personally and for the sport.

But that historic moment was preceded by a period of doubt. Ware, active on the PDC circuit since 2016, wrestled in his early years with whether he truly felt fully accepted within the darts world.

In an interview with Madhouse Magazine, he reflected on that time: “Did I consider walking away? Yes, a few times.

“How I overcame it, I think ultimately I looked in the mirror and said, what do you want to do?

“Do you want to carry on in darts or not? I found I wanted to carry on in darts.

The media attention after the World Championship final lasted ten days, but according to Ware that spotlight does not make the difficult years ‘worth it.’

“I think that is one of the reasons why the ten days I had in the press after I did the world final didn’t make those years worth it, because nothing is worth that. But it made me happy that I stayed around.”

He also took some flak on stage at times. The toughest night? A clash between Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall in the last 16 of a European Tour event.

"The worst one I ever had was, I think, between Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall. It was during the last 16 and again it was on the European Tour. Something happened, I don’t know what.

“Funnily enough, I said something over the microphone. Then somebody else started and somebody else did. All of a sudden it was like the whole crowd were whistling. So I said something to bring it back.

Ware stepped in to restore order. “We only had a couple of legs left anyway. But I think it sort of brought the game back to some degree of order.

“But the game had been ruined already, there’s no question about that.”