The roar of a raucous crowd humming in your ears. The desire to win your sport's biggest, most lucrative event. A wasp.
For all the obstacles players face at Alexandra Palace, it is the latter that has once again buzzed into the spotlight at the World Darts Championship.
What was once an oddity has become almost commonplace, and ESPN has rounded up the moments when wasps have disrupted play on darts' biggest stage.
The first sting
The earliest widely referenced incident dates back to Adrian Lewis's title defence in 2012.
Playing his first-round match against Nigel Heydon, Lewis found himself uncharacteristically 2-0 down before he was stung on his non-throwing arm between sets. Rather than deter him, it seemed to coincide with a momentum shift. He won the match 3-2, before going on to claim his second world championship.
"I thought it wasn't going to be my night," Lewis said at the time.
"To be 2-0 down and then get stung by a wasp is awful luck, but I kept fighting right to the end."
Sporadic sightings become a pattern
During the 2018 World Darts Championship, a wasp entered the playing area during Mensur Suljović's first-round match against Kevin Painter. The insect hovered near the oche and board, prompting brief pauses in play, before it landed on Suljović's head and moved to his shirt.
It proved little more than a curiosity. Suljović won the match 3-0.
"The wasp landed on the back of my head and then flew towards Kevin. It landed on my chest," Suljović said. "Everyone was like, 'go on, kill it.' I would never kill it. Never, never. I wasn't scared. I just didn't like it on my neck.
"It has never happened to me before in my long career. It didn't affect my game. Once it went, I kissed it goodbye. It was my lucky wasp."
Smith's unlucky day
The issue became more prominent during the 2023 World Darts Championship, when Ross Smith was stung multiple times during his second-round match. The stings were visible on camera and caused Smith discomfort during play, though didn't stop him marching to a 3-1 victory.
"I got stung three times," Smith said. "I'm going to be like the Elephant Man tomorrow. It went ping, ping, ping and flew off. Luckily it's my left hand."
A familiar face for a new generation
As younger players emerged, so too did fresh wasp encounters.
Luke Littler experienced his own moment when he felt what he described as a sharp sensation during a match in 2024, unsure whether he had been stung or simply brushed by the insect. Callan Rydz later in the tournament had a wasp land directly on his head mid-throw, calmly completing his visit to the oche while the crowd reacted around him.
Snookering opponents
Wasp incidents have not been confined to darts. Alexandra Palace also hosts The Masters snooker tournament, one of the sport's most prestigious invitation events, every January.
During recent editions of the Masters, wasps have entered the arena during live frames. Players have stepped away from shots while referees have either waited for the insects to move away from the table area, or remove them themselves.
In 2024, referee Rob Spencer intervened a match between Barry Hawkins and Neil Robertson to catch a wasp in a glass.
The Ally Pally wasp then disrupted Shaun Murphy, prompting him to flee, during a semifinal earlier this year. The incident happened shortly before he made a stunning 147 on his way to victory.
The incidents are particularly noticeable due to the quiet conditions required for snooker, with crowd noise minimised and play proceeding at a slower pace.
Buzzing back into the spotlight
During the 2025 tournament, multiple encounters have been recorded.
It started with world champion Littler on the opening night, as he desperately tried to avoid a wasp during a postmatch interview. "Did Lewis go on to defend it?" he said, referencing the 2012 incident. "He did. That might be written in the stars then for me."
There was also déjà vu for Ross Smith. The Englishman was spotted with a wasp on his collar as he entered a crucial fourth set against Andreas Harryson this year -- and on this occasion it didn't bring him luck. He lost 3-2.
"I felt like anybody who had the Ally Pally wasp, they were playing well," Brendan Dolan remarked. "As soon as [Smith] wiped it off, all his luck went. I was hoping it would land on me but in another way, I wouldn't like to get stung by it."
Sebastian Bialecki then played part of his match against Stephen Bunting with a wasp resting on his shoulder and shirt, before Ted Evetts flicked one away with a grin during his defeat against Luke Humphries.
A wasp appeared again during Gabriel Clemens' win over Alex Spellman, and the following afternoon Nitin Kumar's dart, incredibly, caught a wasp mid-flight and knocked it sideways.
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Why Alexandra Palace?
The explanation is relatively straightforward. Alexandra Palace sits within large areas of woodland and parkland, and the building itself contains countless nooks where insects can shelter.
During winter, when wasps are less commonly seen, powerful lighting rigs, packed crowds and warm indoor temperatures can draw wasps out of hibernation and into the arena. Once inside, the bright stage lights and movement make the oche an attractive landing spot.
"When inside they are drawn to light and heat, therefore end up at the stage," wasp expert Professor Seirian Sumner told the BBC.