Darts lovers convinced ‘The Pollinator’ cannot be killed after surviving swatting during third World Darts Championship appearance in three days
18:08, 14 Dec 2025
Ted Evetts nonchalantly flicked the Ally Pally wasp off his shirt after defeat to Luke Humphries(Image: (John Walton/PA Wire))
The Ally Pally wasp has been hailed unbreakable after surviving a telly swatting – and a direct hit by a dart.
Viewers feared the worst for the critter – dubbed ‘The Pollinator’ – after Ted Evetts was spotted coolly flicking it off his shirt during his first round defeat by Luke Humphries at the World Darts Championship. Smiling Humphries made a boxers’ punching gesture before shaking his opponent’s hand.
The tournament’s official Twitter page posted footage of the incident with the message: “R.I.P the Ally Wasp?? Ted Evetts may have finally sent the Ally Pally wasp packing!” It was the Natural Born Stinger’s third appearance in successive days at the tournament at London’s famous Alexandra Palace.
Luke Littler had to duck out of the way of a wasp during his interview after the win over Darius Labanauskas.(Image: Sky Sports)
Fans took to social media fearing it may have bitten the dust. But they did not have long to wait for a comeback. The stinging superhero was filmed perched on the shoulder of German arrows ace Gabriel Clemens in his interview following his win in the next match prompting fans to suggest the brawny buzzer cannot be killed.
DartsAnonymous posted a snap of the critter gate-crashing Gabriel’s telly chat on X and wrote: “He makes it 3 days in a row and survives attempted murder. “Nobody can break this legends spirit. We are looking at one of the all time greats ladies and gentlemen.”
Another fan posted a meme saying ‘he’s back’. One more wrote: “Ted couldn’t take out Humphries and also could not take out the ally pally wasp.”
The wasp then proved its superpowers again when incredible TV footage showed it taking a direct hit from a dart thrown by Nitin Kumar in his first round match with Richard Veenstra. As Nitin paused his throw and looked away one of the commentators said: “Oh not the wasp! Not in leg two!”
He then exclaimed ‘oh look’ as a slow motion replay showed the wasp bouncing off Kumar’s dart. It may have spiralled away like a crashing fighter jet – but it survived.
The wasp was later spotted on the white section of Gabriel Clemens’ top(Image: (John Walton/PA Wire))
The hit did not seem to have any impact on Kumar, 40, who went on to triumph 3-2 and become the first Indian player to win a match at the championship. One darts fan joked of the wasp’s impressive run at the tournament: “What price is it to win the thing?”
Another suggested taking it out may not be a wise move – with loads more ready to pounce. “Let’s get real,” they wrote. “There’s a wasps’ nest somewhere in the Ally Pally with a long line of them waiting to infiltrate the stage. Kill one and another dozen will follow.”
The insect made its first appearance during defending champ Luke Littler’s telly interview following his first round victory over Lithuanian Darius Labanauskas.
A packed crowd watched bemused as the Brit teen suddenly started weaving from side-to-side as he was about to chat to Sky Sports’ Polly James. Polly explained: “Oh, the Ally Pally wasp is there. He’s come to see you Luke.”
The presenter urged the crowd and millions watching on TV to ‘bear with us’ as the 18-year-old star ducked and dived in a bid to dodge the stinger. After Luke performed a final nimble body swerve the wasp vanished. “There we go – he’s gone,” said Polly before coolly carrying on with her interview.
Eagle-eyed fans then spotted the wasp nestled on Rob Cross’s shoulder after his match the following day. Now it has graced all three days of the tournament which boasts a record £1m first prize.
One fan tweeted: “There has to be more than one. Probably a whole nest of them somewhere high up in the rafters, relatively dormant with recent cool conditions but livened up again now with more heat being generated at the venue.”
The Palace – which opened in 1873 – has been a long-time host to generations of wasps thought to nest in rooftop nooks and crannies. While the critters usually hibernate in the winter experts say they are drawn out by the bright lights and intense heat generated during tournaments which fool them into thinking it is summer. They then lap up fans’ lager, spilled sugary drinks and leftover grub.
Luke first came face-to-face with one in 2024 when he nearly got stung during a 5-1 victory over Brendan Dolan on New Year’s Day. “I’m not sure what happened there,” he said at the time. “I felt a little zap. I saw it fluttering around near the end. It didn’t bother me. I felt it a little bit. I’m not sure if I was stung. But I had to focus and get over the line.”
In 2023 Ross Smith was stung three times during his second round victory over Niels Zonneveld. “I’m going to be like the Elephant Man tomorrow,” he said. “It went ping, ping, ping and flew off. Luckily it’s my left hand.”
Wasps have also targeted the Masters snooker finals at the same venue. Last year Judd Trump was seen wafting them away during his quarter-final against Ali Carter. One landed on his waistcoat and stayed there for several minutes.
The former world champion did not notice and knocked in a century break while the critter hung on before the match referee stepped in and removed it. Carter said: “They should get Rentokil in or something like that. That problem needs to be sorted. Judd made a hundred break and I didn’t want to stop him because it was right on the back of his waistcoat. I thought it could sting him. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. I just thought I’d stay out of it.”
Trump did not blame the wasp for his defeat but said: “It’s never nice because you can’t really get a flow, you’re never really in a rhythm, you’re kind of stop-start.
“It’s not nice for anyone in the tournament. It’s gone on a little bit too long now. They need to find a way to get rid of it just to make it easier for the viewing public.”
The Professional Darts Corporation, which runs the world championships, had not responded to a request for comment.
