Alexandra Palace was quite literally buzzing during the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship.
However, not in the sense of a packed arena full of jubilant beer-swelling fans intent on a great night out at the darts.
Mensur Suljovic and Kevin Painter quickly noticed an intruder during their matchSky SportsInstead, it was a wasp that took centre stage at Ally Pally, interrupting Mensur Suljovic’s clash with Kevin Painter.
Suljovic successfully made it through the first-round match with a straight forward 3-0 win over the Englishman but it wasn’t without the odd interruption along the way.
The wasp landed on Suljovic’s head before moving to his shirt and made clear its intention of hijacking the show for as long as possible.
The incident halted play to the amusement of those in attendance and that of the commentating team as the two player did their best to flick away the wasp.
“Come on Mensur, he’s a 6ft4 beast of a man. Come on now,” joked one of the commentators as the crowd burst into laughter.
The two players shared a joke when it landed on Suljovic’s shirt in the third set but it was business as usual for the Serbia-born Austrian once he had flicked the wasp away.
“The wasp landed on the back of my head and then flew towards Kevin. It landed on my chest,” Suljovic said after booking his place in round two.
“Everyone was like, ‘go on, kill it’. I would never kill it. Never, never. I wasn’t scared. I just didn’t like it on my neck.
“It has never happened to me before in my long career. It didn’t affect my game.
“Once it went, I kissed it goodbye. It was my lucky wasp.”
And his luck continued in the next round with a 4-2 victory over Scotland’s Robert Thornton.
skysportsThe wasp began to cause mayhem, particularly for Suljovic[/caption]But sadly his dream of lifting the prize diminished with a 4-0 third round defeat at the hands of Belgium’s Dimitri Van den Bergh.
Reflecting on his first-round victory Suljovic added; “Kevin beat me before and I told him on the stage that’s 1-1 now so it’s a good feeling, it’s brilliant.
“I’m happy I’m here, this is brilliant playing on that stage with this crowd. It’s amazing.”
Suljovic, known as ‘The Gentle’ – the name of his former pub in Austria, entered the tournament at a career high of world No. 5.
Prior to the 2018 World Championship, Suljovic opened up on his venture into darts and the impact felt from the Balkans War in the 1990s.
“I lived in Serbia for 19 years,” he told Sky Sports. “Then I went to Macedonia and then I went on to Austria.
“My brothers lived and worked in Austria. I arrived there when there was a war in Serbia. My brother was in the war in Serbia.
skysportsIt finally landed on the Austrians shirt[/caption] skysportsSuljovic flicked it away before going on to win the match[/caption]“My mum told me, ‘please, not both of you here during the war’ – you go with your brother in Austria.”
Suljovic revealed he first played darts at his brother’s cafe. He said: “My brother was one of many to play soft-tip darts and he said to me ‘come and play with me’ and I said ‘I have never played’, but I did okay.
“He said to me, ‘for the first time it is good’. From then on I played every day!”
Suljovic admitted to thriving off the support from the live crowds and says the sport holds an a special place in his heart.
“I think I play for Austria,” said Suljovic. “I see the public on my side shouting my name and think it is nice for me. I have a good feeling and am happy every time.
“If I win one game, one tournament I am happy. I love darts. The darts is Mensur!”
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