"Maybe it was also not a good idea for me to spray it" - Jurjen Van der Velde recalls moments behind the scenes following Ally Pally wasp incident
PDC
Jurjen Van der Velde experienced the PDC World Darts Championship for the very first time back in December 2025. He would exit at the first hurdle but the experience was poignant and memorable one, even if he did get in a spot of bother following him taking matters in his own hands with the Ally Pally wasp continuing to annoy the players on stage.
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The Ally Pally wasp is synonymous with the PDC World Darts Championship, regularly popping up in random places. Van der Velde had his way of dealing with it, spraying some wasp spray on the stage ahead of making his debut in a 3-1 defeat to fellow countryman Danny Noppert.
While it received a comical reaction, not everyone was impressed as he ended up getting a warning for it during the match. "After the first set, everyone has their own chair and a little room to get a bit of rest during the five-minute break," he told Oche 180. "Graham was knocking on my door and told me some people are allergic to it.
"I thought, at the moment, I was full of adrenaline and things like that, so I thought, 'Okay, you said it in the first break, say it after the game, because it won't happen during the match anymore.' I thought maybe that was not his best idea, but maybe it was also not a good idea for me to spray it and just to show the bottle."
The world number 104 was not affected by any of this. "No, it was not affecting me a lot. I think it was just a warning not to do it again. It was also my debut, so I wanted to... Yeah, I played at that moment against an in-form Danny Noppert, of course, and he lives 30 minutes from my house, so we live close together. That was also strange, to play each other. But yeah, I also wanted to win this game, but it was not affecting me a lot, I think."
He could not escape the wasp in the match as it ended up landing on him. "There was still a wasp during that third set or something. It was on my shirt again. I'm not allergic to it, but yeah, it's still a strange thing that happens. But yeah, it's also funny to have something like that, especially only with a World Championship. The wasp is coming back, so yeah."
New management team full of prestige and experience
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The 23-year-old Dutchman has joined the management company Invictus last year, led by
Paul Stretford and Steve Mottershead, who previously worked with Phil Taylor. They are also with retired footballer Wayne Rooney and five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld. It is an esteemed list of people to be with.
Jurjen Van der Velde continues to impress and develop on the oche
The move is motivated by Van der Velde wanting to improve in
the sport as he looks to rise to that next level and consistently compete with
the best. A former World Youth Championship runner-up, he is looking to convert that promising form into competing with the elite.
"Especially with Raymond, of course. He's a legend of the game, and with Steve, his experience in darts over all the years with Phil, of course, yeah, they can help me a lot by giving me tips and everything that helps me to become a better darts player. And yeah, it's a very good team."
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While they are apart of the same management, Van der Velde does not expect any coaching by 'Barney' any time soon. "Not for now, I think. And yeah, Raymond is, of course, still on the ProTour for this year. And yeah, maybe in the future he's going to coach and help some other youth players in the team at Invictus, so yeah, maybe for the future."
New Dutch darting generation set to challenge Littler
There is a number of extremely talented darting talents coming from the Netherlands as they look to challenge the best players in the world. World No.2 Gian van Veen and Wessel Nijman are the most notable ones with Kevin Doets and Danny Noppert also mentioned.
After years dominated by Michael van Gerwen and van Barneveld, it feels like the torch is being passed over to the next generation. Van der Velde will want to be in that group knocking on the door.
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However, he concedes that Luke Littler is in a league of his own in this current period of time. "I think, yeah, of course. Luke is still a lot better than the rest at the moment, so yeah, maybe it will take some years to be at his level of darts for the Dutch players."
He does see this changing in the near future with Littler not set to always be on top. "But yeah, I think at that point Luke is winning everything, and maybe it's becoming boring for him as well. So he needs to find his motivation back maybe after a few years. And I think that, yeah, it's becoming better and better, the level, so yeah."
Lucas MichaelDarts Journalist
Lucas Michael is a darts journalist and reporter based in Cambridge, UK, and has been part of the DartsNews team since 2025. He covers professional darts through reports, analysis, round-ups, and live coverage, with a focus on clear context and accurate reporting across the PDC calendar.
A key part of his work is liveblogging major tournaments throughout the year, providing real-time updates, match coverage, and contextual reporting across the professional circuit. He also reports regularly from events on site and has covered the PDC World Darts Championship from the venue, delivering first-hand insight throughout the tournament.
Within the newsroom, Lucas works closely with the editorial team and supports coverage alongside Chief Content Officer Samuel Gill and reporter Kieran Wood.
Lucas holds a BA (Hons) in Sports Journalism. In his work, he places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating content promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026