Darts star Jurjen van der Velde took matters into his own hands with the Ally Pally wasp as he brought bug killer onto the stage for his debut match.
The famous bug has made headlines this year more than ever with its attacks on players, including defending champion Luke Littler, who was left ducking and diving during his post-match interview following his win on opening night.
Ross Smith also came into contact with the wasp on Friday, with the creature seen on the back of his shirt two years after it stung him on stage.
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.’
Van der Velde, however, came prepared for his match with Danny Noppert, arriving with Raid fly and wasp killer and spraying it as he arrived on stage.
The Dutchman, 23, drew a laugh from the crowd, with the wasp appearing to leave the duo alone from then on.
In what was the wasp’s first appearance of this year’s tournament on Thursday, world champion 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.’
On Sunday, the wasp was struck by Nitin Kumar’s dart mid-flight. Is it accepted that there are a number of wasps, with fans pushing the idea that there could be one wasp as somewhat of an urban legend.
Speaking to BBC Sport on why there are wasps around the Palace, Professor Seirian Sumner of University College London said: ‘This is a time of year when you don’t normally encounter wasps. It is unusual,’ Professor Sumner told BBC Sport.
‘I believe what is probably happening is that you are using the space and it’s being heated up and that is waking up the queens prematurely before they should do.’
The PDC, meanwhile, have said: ‘At this time of year the queen wasps look for somewhere warm and dry so end up in places like this,’ said the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).
‘When inside they are drawn to light and heat, therefore end up at the stage.’
