Portela reveals another example of cheating during online lockdown tournament: "It brings the reputation of our sport down"
PDC
Online darts has been a staple of lockdown with it being a game which can be played at home but among the excellent stories, there have also been some examples of those blatantly cheating and also match-fixing.
ADVERTISEMENT
This has been seen with Kyle McKinstry and Wessel Nijman in the MODUS Icons of Darts League and as Diogo Portela has revealed, there are suspicions that it stemmed to a whole tournament he has been involved in.
The King and Queen Caribbean tournament which was played in by not only Portela but also other well-known players including former World Championship qualifiers Sudesh Fitzgerald and Norman Madhoo and World Cup teammates for the Brazilian in Bruno Rangel and Alexandre Sattin.
Portela spoke to DartsNews about the competition and revealed that he had blatant cheating against him; and that rules to add players were changed during the tournament.
“The tournament director excluded a player but he didn’t mention why he was excluded; he said this player is now a bye and that was quite weird because only the players from my group knew he was excluded. He said they wanted to keep it quiet and he wouldn’t show it to anyone and that started raising questions.”
As Portela revealed these rules on the subsequent round robin were changed through a vote which initially didn’t go through: “He changed his mind and put it to a vote to make it the top four players to go through. He put a condition that the vote would have to be unanimous for all the countries. The vote wasn’t unanimous; it was 13-1, 14-1. One country voted against it.”
“When this rule changed, Florida which is not a country but it was representing the US; it was the most beneficial country. They had four more players going through. It used to be only two.”
This Round Robin saw the 1st player playing third and second player playing fourth; which saw him withdraw from the competition alongside the other well known names.
ADVERTISEMENT
The fifth and sixth place took the number one and number two spot from those who withdrew and with these being from Florida, with their manager helping to organise the tournament who subsequently resigned as a result of this, it began to raise even more questions.
“I managed to express myself and said listen I qualified in 1st and I think I’ve got the right to play the lesser player in the other group not the second lesser. They were just like we’re not changing these rules and because of before I started to wonder why; so I went to the qualifiers and the second out of four groups was from Florida and Florida was running the tournament.”
“So I quit the tournament at that stage and they had two options; they could have given that bye in the knockout stage or they could have replaced me and put a second player from my group who was from Florida and everyone goes up one position.
He continued: "They didn’t; they kept all the positions and they put the 5th player as the top player.”
Thoughts on examples during lockdown including McKinstry and Nijman
ADVERTISEMENT
In terms of further cheating during lockdown in online darts as a whole, the Brazilian admits that it damages the sport in every case.
“It brings the reputation of our sport down. If you don’t actually treat each case as it should be treated; it’s just going to bring our sport down. No matter who’s doing it; if someone’s caught cheating it should be exposed.”
“It brings the reputation of our sport down. If you don’t actually treat each case as it should be treated; it’s just going to bring our sport down. No matter who’s doing it; if someone’s caught cheating it should be exposed.”
“That happened loads of times in the UK during this lockdown. Even if it’s any person; not even an association or an organisation.”
This includes the aforementioned one involving the MODUS Icons of Darts League and for Portela, it was one he couldn’t get his head around.
“I think it’s just ridiculous, the intention of MODUS (Icons of Darts League) during this lockdown was to bring entertainment to people and it was a great opportunity to develop our sport even more and to get two good guys, I get on with both of them; and I couldn’t believe when I saw the news. That wasn’t even for you guys; that was for the people during this pandemic.”
“It’s just terrible for this sport, I hope they learn.”
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- So what if littler missed out, he doesnt have to enter everythingant10-11-2026
- Good, absolutely no loss if we never see this dancing goof ever again......no that is not fair. He absolutely cannot and has never been remotely able to dance!richieburnettrocks10-11-2026
- Yes Phil,now the money in the game is bigger than ever,you'd play littler. Well so would I! Retire on your memory Phil,and your successful careerrick6709-11-2026
- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- 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