"I thought the world would fall out my head": New 'Voice of Darts' looks back on a difficult first few months
PDC
Lewis Jones has spoken openly about his first months as the new Master of Ceremonies for the PDC. The Brit took over from the iconic John McDonald at the start of 2026, but admits that the beginning of his new role was anything but easy. A painful mistake during his debut immediately brought heavy criticism, while sleepless nights and self-doubt also became part of his experience.
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Jones became McDonald’s official successor after the 2026 World Darts Championship, ending McDonald’s remarkable eighteen-year spell as the unmistakable voice of the PDC. Since 2007, McDonald had introduced players onto the stage and grew into one of the most recognisable faces and voices in darts. His retirement meant Jones was promoted to become the new ‘Voice of Darts’, although the opportunity came sooner than expected.
His first appearance as the full-time Master of Ceremonies came at the Bahrain Darts Masters in January. However, things went wrong straight away. During the walk-on of Gian van Veen, Jones introduced the Dutchman as a semi-finalist at the World Darts Championship, when Van Veen had in fact been a finalist. The slip-up quickly led to plenty of reactions on social media, and Jones found it visibly difficult to deal with.
While he has grown into the role with people starting to enjoy his calls, others also have called for Philip Brzezinski to take the role something that no doubt Jones would've found hard to deal with.
"It was just awful. I don't know why, just the name of the tournament got muddled up in my head and I started looking around the stage for it and I couldn't see it," said Jones to Daily Star.
"It was just the most, honestly, I felt like the world would fall out my head, that was pretty tough. A couple of people said to me, ‘You're going to make mistakes and it's going to be tough, you're going to get criticised for it’. So I knew that, but you still don't want to make them."
Fast-tracked into John McDonald’s role
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Jones had already worked as a Master of Ceremonies at PDC tournaments, serving as McDonald’s regular stand-in. That partnership ultimately helped him make the step into the leading role. Originally, Jones was not expected to become the permanent presenter so soon.
"I don't think I would've been able to do it without the way John was, in terms of the speed which it happened," he continued.
"Originally I came in to start a back-up role, it was to give John more flexibility, to look after John.
"Then John retired probably a lot quicker than I think maybe people were expecting, certainly quicker than what I was expecting."
Lewis Jones calls at the UK Open.
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Sleepless nights and self-doubt
Jones has since handled the player walk-ons at major tournaments such as the Premier League Darts and the World Matchplay. Although he is gaining more experience, he admits the mental pressure has been significant. Self-doubt, in particular, regularly crept in.
"It's been amazing. Of course, it's been tough at times," he continued. "There have been days and nights where I've not been able to sleep and the self-doubt, a bit of imposter syndrome creeps in.
However, Jones emphasised that he has never had to face it alone. The support of his predecessor, McDonald, still means a great deal to him.
"But I've had a lot of support as well, particularly from John. We still regularly talk about things, still gives me advice. The PDC have been amazing with me."
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Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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