Latest news with #AllyPally
Daily Mirror
29-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Gerwyn Price showed true colours with Luke Littler comments before teen's quip
Gerwyn Price and Luke Littler will go head-to-head in the Premier League Play-Off semi-finals on Thursday night, with the pair sharing a respectful rivalry in the world of darts Gerwyn Price has previously praised Luke Littler for doing "wonders for the sport", but as they prepare to battle in Thursday's Premier League Play-Offs, all pleasantries are on hold. Since bursting onto the scene at Ally Pally in 2023, The Nuke has been tearing through the PDC, becoming world champion in January. Despite his success, Welshman Price often comes out on top against the 18-year-old, holding a 7-6 lead in their head-to-head record. However, Littler has recently snapped a six-match losing streak to Price, winning their last two encounters. Ahead of their face-off at the O2 Arena, Price expressed confidence in his mental game and believes that he will come out on top in London. "I'm thinking I'm going to win," he told talkSPORT. "Obviously, I'm playing really well. I've got a good record over young Luke, and he'll be thinking about it more than I will. "I don't really care who I play. The only thing leading up to it is how I'm going to play, and I can usually tell three hours before the game when I'm practising whether I'm on it or not." Despite being the younger contender, Littler isn't shy about psychological warfare either, having taunted Price before their imminent clash. The current Premier League champ topped the leaderboard and bagged his sixth season win by defeating Luke Humphries 6-3 in Sheffield's final last week, reports the Express. Price began the evening in third but was overtaken by Aspinall, who triumphed 6-2 over Michael van Gerwen and then fell 6-4 to Littler. The Iceman's early exit to Chris Dobey means he must now defeat the world No. 2 in London for a chance at his first Premier League title. After the match, Littler cheekily suggested Price made a tactical blunder: "Gezzy tonight, if he won, he would have jumped to third," he remarked during his press conference. "Is that a mistake? Because I'm certainly ready for next week." Despite their competitive banter, it's evident there's mutual admiration between these darts titans. In March, after besting Littler on Night Six of the Premier League in Nottingham, Price praised the young star on Sky Sports. "I wanted to get another win over Luke just to keep on top," he admitted. "He's one of the best in the world and he's going to be for the next few years. He's going to get better and better. "Only the younger generations can stop him, we can't stop him. Luke has been phenomenal for darts. We all need to start winning now because in a few years, he'll be untouchable." Ahead of their quarter-final clash in Manchester in April, Littler also shared his thoughts on facing Price, saying: "I wouldn't say I'm motivated to beat him, obviously I want to try and beat him, but I won't go on stage saying to myself: 'You need to win this, you need to win this.' "I'll just go up on stage with the same mindset of winning that first game and getting two points on the board. I know he's obviously got the record and he knows how to beat me but hopefully I can try and get that win over him." Littler, the current favourite to claim the title, will be looking to continue his form. Meanwhile, the second semi-final at the O2 will see Humphries take on Nathan Aspinall.
Telegraph
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Iggy Pop: 78 years old and still shirtless, still sensational
An upended coffin stood ominously stage left, as Iggy Pop (now 78), who notoriously cheated death with his hard-drugs habits well into middle age, slunk onstage and tore off his skimpy leather waistcoat to perform, as ever, topless. While his excellent younger band blasted forth a headlong TV Eye, a menacing grind that Iggy first created with his chaotic first band The Stooges in 1970, later to influence punk rockers of every stripe, the wrinkly-torso'd singer slipped his cordless microphone suggestively inside the waist of his black slacks. As he lolloped around up there, in what proved a terrific and explicitly life-affirming show, it was hard to forget his incorrigible antics as a performer over the years: as recently as the mid-2010s, Iggy, né James Newell Osterberg, was nightly defying doctor's orders by hurling himself repeatedly into the crowd, exacerbating his spinal scoliosis, and necessitating hip replacements. For six decades now, he has been reliably deranged in his commitment to performative shock and awe, a consistency, through all the craziness, that has made him one of rock's most enduring live attractions. Certainly, I'd place at least five or six Iggy shows in the Top Ten rock gigs I ever attended. But now that the stagediving has stopped and Stooges reunions are no longer possible, I did wonder beforehand how this incandescent stage presence can keep going deeper into his pensionable years. Inside Ally Pally's cavernous 10,000-capacity Great Hall, such doubts were quickly blown aside. As his two guitarists, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner, and Cuban-Argentinian femme-punk from Miami Ale Campos, joyfully clanged forth another iconic proto-punk riff, from 1973's Raw Power, brutally accented by a two-piece brass section, a pattern formed of Iggy's outright bangers ringing out in high-intensity performances, which plainly galvanised the man himself. Following a massed singalong of The Passenger's la-la-la chorus, he told the audience, 'F---ing bless you!', and his propulsive rhythm section then thumped forth the robust beat to Lust For Life, also from his mid-'70s Berlin period alongside David Bowie. Make no mistake, these were electrifying versions of Iggy's classics: in the here and now, at full pelt, with our diminutive hero by turns purring adorably like a benign monarch, and, on a feral, wailing-brass I Wanna Be Your Dog, yowling like a teenage delinquent. And just to remind us how lucky we all were to experience this, there was that coffin looming as a signifier of Iggy's survival after lifelong self-destruction. 'This is what it was like to be young in 1970', he announced before The Stooges' 1970, and as its heedless lyrics, 'Out of my mind on Saturday night/ I feel alright, I feel alright', resounded, it felt mighty good in 2025, too – the most fun this writer has had in many months. After two hours onstage, Iggy toyed with the coffin door, and finally, during his familiar cover of the early rock'n'roll standard Real Wild Child (Wild One), he hopped inside, snaking out an arm to wave comically. He then jumped out and, to huge applause, gestured that he wasn't ready to accept that fate any time soon.
Daily Record
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Boxer David Jamieson aims to grab 'pinch yourself' Hydro title chance that can be route to the big time
Jamieson will take on Aloys Jnr on the Taylor v Essuman undercard David Jamieson says fighting at the Hydro this weekend is a 'pinch-yourself' moment, but intends to grab his opportunity with both hands. Hamilton fighter Jamieson, 33, takes on Aloys Youmbi (AKA Aloys Jnr) for the WBA International title at cruiserweight at the Glasgow venue, on the undercard of the Josh Taylor v Ekow Essuman WBO International welterweight title fight. Both bouts are part of Queensberry Promotions' 'Land of the Brave' evening, and Jamieson can't wait to get going, with the prospect of a world title fight looming later this year. 'This would be massive. That ranking belt will get me a top-ten spot with the WBA, and it really routes to a world title after that,' said Jamieson. 'That gets me back on track, massively. I think we would be looking at Dubai or Saudi Arabia, and we could be boxing for a world title down the back stretch of the year over there, if I put Aloys Youmbi away here next week. 'I'll need to get sponsored up by Soltan or something like that – especially with ginger hair! 'It's important to grab this chance – you're only as good as your last fight. 'Every fight is massively important, and you hear fighters say it all the time that it has been building to this point – British titles, 'Ally Pally' and all that, everything has been building to this. 'This is the pinnacle, so this is my moment to pull the trigger. I'm getting my chance, it's proper big-time boxing. 'The stars have aligned, here.' Jamieson says no stone has been left unturned in preparation for Saturday's fight against 22-year-old Aloys. He said: 'I'm looking forward to it big-time. You hear boxers say it all the time, but it has been the best camp to date. It's just a case of gradually bringing the weight down in this last week, but we're ready to go. 'I said to my wife Michaela last week, we've came from Blantyre Miners' Welfare to the Hydro, it's a 'pinch yourself' moment, but we'll not dine out on it until the job is done.'
Extra.ie
18-05-2025
- Automotive
- Extra.ie
Luke Littler blasts 'scum of the earth' vandals after car is smashed during game
Darts sensation Luke Littler has fallen victim to vandalism after a group who he labelled the 'scum of the earth' did extensive damage to his Mercedes van. Littler, 18, was taking part in a darts exhibition when the incident took place. The teenager struck major success in January's PDC World Darts Championship final as he became world champion aged 17, just 12 months on from his sensational breakthrough as a 16-year-old at the Ally Pally. Luke Littler. Pic:After that milestone – and his 18th birthday following later in January – Littler revealed he was planning on rewarding himself with a car as he was intent on completing driving lessons. 'I've always loved a Mercedes A-Class – just a small car,' he said. 'Last year I was looking at driving and I loved the Ford Focus, but now I've gone up in the world just a little 'I haven't had driving lessons yet because it's been so hectic, but I'm going to have to do it before I get into my twenties when it'll be too late and I can't be bothered.' Luke Littler has had the back window put through on his vehicle whilst at an exhibition in Norwich Disgusting
The Guardian
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Untameable darts crowds tell us about the future of sport – and maybe society too
Let me tell you the moment I realised Boris Johnson was fucked. It was late 2021 and there had been some talk about parties in Downing Street during Covid, but in these febrile siloed times, when the entirety of human existence has blurred into a single personalised scrolling feed, who even knows what constitutes 'the news' any more? Who knows what fragments of reality ever emerge from Westminster's furiously spinning vortex of unintelligible jargon: prorogue, backstop, Aukus, Slapps? What is a Morgan McSweeney and what time does it start? But then came the magical night, a few days before Christmas, when the darts crowd turned. As Florian Hempel swept to a routine first-round win against Martin Schindler (bit of an upset, to be honest, but you never write off Flo at the Palace), Alexandra Palace rocked to strains of 'Boris is a cunt'. Fans held up signs reading 'Work Event', drew pictures of cheese and wine and gleefully held them up to the cameras. And you realise, with a piercing we've-lost-Cronkite clarity: oh wow, he's fucked. The wider lesson here, of course, is that you never mess with the darts crowd: a lesson all dart players inevitably learn one way or another. You cannot harness the crowd. You cannot beat the crowd. At best you may be able to manage the crowd. The crowd is wild and untameable, gives and takes its affection with a deliciously wanton promiscuity, and most importantly pays your wages. And yet in recent months something definitely seems to have shifted in these loud windowless arenas: a new numinous madness brewing among the traffic cones and the pools of spilt Amstel. No sport has leaned more enthusiastically than darts into the concept of the spectator as spectacle: the costumes, the signs, the £60,000 cash prize for a nine-darter. No sport has so drastically reconfigured itself around the whims and values of its paying public. During the last world championship a third-round game between Nathan Aspinall and Andrew Gilding was actually stopped so the players could watch a fan downing an entire four-pint pitcher on the big screen. These days darts is less a classic working class sport than a middle class cosplay of a working class sport: a mass fete of boys, bags and booze. At Ally Pally or the Premier League you are far less likely to see a bricklayer than a banker or a bunch of estate agents on a work Christmas do. This is the modern music hall, a brilliantly curated populist product that also serves as one of this country's great contemporary cultural exports. James Bond; Adele; Paddington Bear; Stephen Bunting walking on stage to 'Titanium' while 10,000 people sing along in a kind of religious ecstasy. And yet like any form of populism, there are moments of excess and overindulgence. Phil Taylor occasionally used to get some rough treatment, then Gerwyn Price after him. These days, however, flashpoints between players and the public have become a near-weekly occurrence at the Premier League and Euro Tour. Whistling and booing has become commonplace, endemic, largely unpoliceable. A few months ago Cameron Menzies of Scotland was jeered and barracked to the point where he basically had a panic attack on the Alexandra Palace stage. Petty nationalism is clearly a factor here: English crowds save their worst for the Scots and Europeans, while German crowds are at their most hostile when an English player comes up against one of their own. After being mercilessly hounded in Munich, Luke Littler went on Instagram and announced – with a very Churchillian pomp – that he was boycotting Germany for the foreseeable future, before later rowing back. But then perhaps this is the logical result of a sport that has increasingly sold itself as a place where social norms can happily be transgressed. The Professional Darts Corporation markets itself in Europe as 'the biggest party in sport'. Like Cheltenham or Aintree, the Test match or the summer football tournament, darts has been reimagined not as a routine or a ritual but as a cultural experience. Not as a part of regular life, but as a wild and hedonistic escape from it. And in this respect darts is simply further along on a journey that most other sports are taking to varying degrees. Take selfies. Use the hashtag. Make some noise. Here comes the kiss cam! Everyone shine your phone torches. Make some more noise! But if the fan is no longer simply a passive spectator, then nor will it ever truly be possible to police the whole gamut of ways in which they might be active. Take tennis, where the four Grand Slam crowds appear to be locked in a kind of inflationary dickhead spiral: mercilessly persecuting its designated heels, appointing itself moral arbiter on everything from line calls to humour to how long a female player can spend in the bathroom before getting booed. Meanwhile players are commercially incentivised to be visible and distinctive, to build brand, to cultivate those sweet parasocial relationships that probably will not end in a literal stalker turning up at your matches. Or take women's football, which sold itself on its openness and now finds itself in thrall to an increasingly sinister stan culture in which a significant minority feels entitled to unlimited player time, player photos, player signatures and player feedback. The Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale has become the most attended event in golf by essentially becoming outdoor darts: a fiesta of heckles, hot tempers and hurled beer cups. Snooker is currently having a bit of a 'darts' moment. What happens when norms break down? When individualism gradually erodes the ties that bind us? What happens when thousands of people collectively cross the line? Nothing, of course. The line simply moves. The crowd, emboldened and empowered, sizes up its next meal. At the temple of mass consumerism, the customer is always right. And in this respect darts is something of a canary in the mineshaft: a salutary and perhaps cautionary tale of what can happen when a sport indulges its audience to the point where it can essentially behave how it pleases. An increasingly common sight at the darts of late has been players standing at the front of the stage, both arms raised towards the crowd, gently trying to shush them down. It rarely works. Actually, it never works. Often it has the opposite effect: the boos and jeers reach a screeching crescendo, the sound of mass refusal. This is the darts, and we do what we want. And seen from a certain angle, the shushing-down looks like something else entirely: a kind of supplicatory worship, the humble practitioners of darts saluting their new overlords. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
