Michael Smith throws nine-darter at Darts World Championship after MVG misses one

If you’re reading this in the USA, odds are you don’t know anything about professional darts. So here’s the rules quickly: Each player starts with 501 points, you have to finish with exactly zero points, and your last dart must be thrown in the double ring of the dart board.

So the minimum number of darts that it takes to do this is nine. It doesn’t happen often, and it’s the equivalent of a no-hitter or an immaculate inning in baseball. And when it happens at the PDC World Championships in the final, it’s unforgettable.

And when the three-time world champion Michael Van Gerwen missed his chance on the last dart, the challenger Michael Smith just did it anyway.

This is the final of the 96-player tournament that is the 2022/23 PDC World Championship. And for those in Alexandra Palace in London (the “Ally Pally” to the often rather inebriated fans in attendance), this is what they paid to see. One of the great moments in the history of the sport, it’s one they’ll be unlikely to forget no matter how much lager they’ve had.

If you have DAZN, you might have a free trial available so you can watch this electric final live, but there’s no over-the-air broadcast in the United States. Smith and MVG are tied at two sets apiece as of now, and they’re playing to seven.