Darts Star Given Warning From PDC After Incident During First-Round Match

A darts player has apologised for his actions on the Alexandra Palace stage after he was apparently 'told off' by PDC officials during an eventful debut at the World Championship.

It has been a week to remember for Jurjen van der Velde, who gave a good account of himself at the Alexandra Palace as he impressed against sixth seed and fellow compatriot Danny Noppert.

Van der Velde, who is widely regarded as one of the most exciting prospects in darts, was beaten 3-1 by Noppert but recorded a respectable average of 89.27.

Away from his performance and arguably the biggest talking point from that first round game involved bug spray.

The 23-year-old arrived on stage with a can of insect repellent to combat the infamous Ally Pally wasp, and replays showed he showered the oche area to protect himself from the pesky insect.

After the game, Van der Velde addressed the wasp spray incident and confirmed he got his "balls kicked" by officials for pulling off the stunt.

“I sprayed that stuff, but that wasn’t such a smart idea from me. It was meant as a joke, but I got my balls kicked," he said.

“The PDC told me right after the first set. I thought then, ‘It’s good that you hear that right away because I lost the first set and then you have to pull yourself together’, but there were people allergic to it.

"Well, it certainly wasn’t my intention and I told the PDC right away, 'Sorry about that’.”

Moments after completing his walk-on against Noppert, Van der Velde was visibly emotional and could be seen wiping away tears with a towel.

Speaking about his experience on the Ally Pally stage, the Dutchman said: “This is what I dreamed of as a kid. I watched guys like Raymond van Barneveld and Phil Taylor and all those other legends who stood here. And now I’m here."

"I wanted this so badly," he continued. “Maybe this was my last time. I’m going to watch back all the clips of what I experienced. My dad was here for the first time too."

Van der Velde added: “Sorry, here I go again. The man is always busy on the farm, so I wanted one thing and that was for him to be here. That he was here, I think that’s fantastic.”

Nopper confirmed that his opponent was emotional. "I asked him and he told me he really enjoyed it for the first time at the World Championship," he said.

"Different than what I did. Every person celebrates in different [ways]. He was emotional, yeah."