Curious scene at the WDF World Darts Championship in Frimley Green, England. A player runs off the stage in the middle of the match, causing a brief interruption. The reasoning is mundane.
The first round of the WDF World Darts Championship is underway between Dalibor Smolik and Marko Kantele, the score is 1:1 after sets. Then a surprising scene occurs.
Smolik had just missed a dart on double 16 to win the third leg in the third set. So now it’s Kantele’s turn. But in the background, Smolik boots straight down and leaves the stage on the right side.
Some spectators point their finger at the darts player and watch the bizarre process that raises questions.
Meanwhile, Kantele finishes his further throws and then notices that his opponent is missing. The Finn exchanges ideas with the officials.
After about a minute, Smolik appears again – and confidently secures the next leg. So the break had had its effect. There were no breaks scheduled between sets in the match.
The Czech continued to hold his nerve and ultimately won the game 3-1 and moved into the second round.
The next opponent comes from Germany
Afterwards, Smolik explained the reason for his abrupt departure.
“I was nervous and had to go to the toilet, but I think I played well and I’m happy,” he said of his stage escape.
In the second round he will now face Paul Krohne from Germany, who is ranked 16th. The winner of this game will face top seed Jimmy van Schie in the round of 16.
With his victory in the opening game, Smolik has already won £1,250 in prize money. With another win against Krohne this amount would increase to £2,000. The winner of the tournament receives 50,000 English pounds.
The WDF tournament started last Friday and the final will take place on December 7th.