The famous Alexandra Palace wasp was back causing havoc at the Darts World Championships once again on Friday night.
The insect has terrorised many a player over the years with the likes of Adrian Lewis, Rob Cross and Luke Littler all coming into contact with it at bygone tournaments.
But tonight it was the turn of Ross Smith to contend with the distraction as he entered a crucial fourth set against Andreas Harryson in north London.
Smith was joined by the famous guest as he limbered up to throw his darts, but was ‘totally oblivious’ that the wasp had landed on his collar.
He comically continued playing while it crawled along his shirt, with viewers taking to X to share their disbelief at Smith’s obliviousness.
‘Someone let Ross Smith know he’s got a wasp on his collar,’ one wrote.
Another joked: ‘Ross Smith? More like Wasp Smith tonight.’
‘This is an unlikely one – Ross Smith hitting a 180 with a wasp riding on his back, absolute cinema,’ a viewer added.
While one more quipped: ‘That wasp on Ross Smith’s collar is giving me anxiety.’
Unfortunately for Smith, the wasp could not inspire him to victory as he crashed out of the tournament to Harryson.
But it’s not the first time he’s been joined by Ally Pally’s resident insect.
Back in 2023, Smith was stung while on stage in the middle of a match before once again being joined by the pest in his post-match interview.
‘There’s the wasp!,’ he said at the time. ‘He’s just done me, he’s just stung me. Little b*****d.’
Luke ‘The Nuke’ was given a fright only yesterday after winning his opening match of the Championships 3-0 over Darius Labanauskas.
In what was the wasp’s first appearance of this year’s tournament, Littler was forced to duck out of the way of the buzzing insect as he began an interview.
Asked about the near miss, the 18-year-old reigning champion said: ‘I saw it in the second set, or halfway through the first, I can’t remember and then it just disappeared.
‘I was like, “yeah, it’s gone”, then as soon as the interview comes, it comes back, but managed to dodge it.’
Reflecting on his win, Littler added: ‘It definitely wasn’t easy. Looking at the stats, it didn’t feel like that but I’m happy.
‘There’s a bit of nerves but once you come here and you win a leg, two legs, then the first set, and that first set is crucial because it settles you down. As long as you win the sets, that’s all that matters.
‘Everyone in the tournament wants to win their first round. It’s definitely the hardest game. If you don’t play well, you won’t win.
‘The first game is done and now I get 10 days off.’
Littler will face either Mario Vandenbogaerde or David Davies in the next round.
