Drinking Feat Of The Week

Professional darts has gone a long way to cleaning up its act since the days when it featured rather obese chaps quaffing beer and puffing fags as they stood at the oche throwing arrows at a board. Nevertheless, old habits die hard even if they have migrated to the crowd, as events at this year’s PDC World Darts Championship held at Alexandra Palace revealed.

Nathan Aspinall stopped play before the deciding leg in his clash with Andrew Gilding in amazement as he watched an unnamed fan, dressed in a hot dog costume, as you do, down a four-pint jug of beer. “I was just intrigued to see if he could finish it,” he said. “Unbelievable”.

Aspinall was not put off his stride by what he had witnessed, winning his place in the last sixteen with a 4-0 victory but the fan was not so lucky. He was ejected.