Darts stars clash in heated altercation as match turns sour | Other | Sport

A WDF World Championships last 32 match quickly got heated after darts stars Jarno Bottenberg and Ryan Hogarth were involved in a fiery exchange of words.

Dutch Open champion Bottenberg impressed in the final match of the afternoon session, averaging 89.11 in a 3-1 victory over his Scottish opponent.

But as Bottenberg turned around to shake Hogarth’s hand, the act of sportsmanship was not immediately replicated and the pair kicked off a tense conversation at the oche.

Bottengerg, seemingly bemused, eventually got the handshake he was seeking and then turned around to thank the match officials for their efforts.

After remonstrating with the Dutchman, Hogarth appeared to urge Bottenberg to pick up the pace and placed his hand on his opponent’s back, pushing him along.

He pointed towards offstage and Bottenberg spun around, visibly frustrated at the direction from the man he had just beaten to reach the last 16, before exiting the venue under very sour circumstances.

Hogarth had taken the lead in the match, starting with a 13-darter before back-to-back ton finishes of 114 and 111.

That lead was short-lived, however, as ‘Bottie’ built on his victory over Matthew Edgar with a 3-0 second-set win, before taking the third 3-1 through two 16-darters.

Seeded player Hogarth grew frustrated in the fourth set, which Bottenberg won three legs on, to seal a victory and a meeting with either Jimmy van Schie or Bjorn Lejon.

Their back and forth had not begun at the end of the match, but tempers did flare upon Bottenberg’s victory. In the fourth set, some angry words appeared to be frustrated in the first leg of the fourth set.

At Frimley Green, a handshake from Bottenberg was not readily accepted by Hogath. He appeared to be frustrated with his opponent ‘rattling’ and moving throughout the match, but having downed the 15th seed, Bottenberg bettered his run from the previous year.

Hogarth had started the final set by taking an early lead, but Bottenberg broke back with a 14-darter and proved to be a comfortable winner.

He hit a maximum and double 16 to set up victory, which was achieved in a thrilling leg with 134, 171 and 140 in a row before going out on double 16.

It has been a controversial week for darts after 18-year-old prodigy Leighton Bennett was banned for eight years following a match-fixing investigation.

He appeared in front of the Darts Regulation Authority and was found guilty of 10 counts of rigging four games.

The charges included providing inside information about the fixtures, failing to assist the investigation and signing a contract with an unregistered manager, with his suspension running until August 11, 2032.