Crowds in fancy dress made their way to Alexandra Palace for the opening night of the 30th PDC World Darts Championship
The glut of fancy dress costumes. The walk-on music sing-a-longs. The nerve-jangling sporting drama. These days, the only way the PDC World Darts Championship would signal the true start of Christmas any more clearly is if Cliff Richard were on stage throwing tinsel-wrapped tungsten in a Santa costume.
They flocked in their thousands up Muswell Hill to the venue that is fast becoming sport’s go-to destination during the festive season. Some came as Santa to mark the occasion. Others came as superheroes. Even the world champion, Peter Wright, who was due to play last on Thursday evening joined in the fun, sporting a Grinch costume for his match against Northern Irish veteran Mickey Mansell.