Darts fans hail ‘greatest thing I've ever seen' as star lands extremely rare triple-bullseye checkout
And it has certainly not disappointed after a Conan Whitehead landed an epic nine-darter.
2
However, that may have now been topped by Thomas Banks after he landed a remarkable 150 checkout... with THREE bulls.
Banks was up against Steve Plumstead in a Group C clash with the score 1-1.
Plumstead, 30, had just hit 133 at the board to bring his score down from 273 to 140.
Banks had 150 to hit or risk his rival being able to checkout.
And the 18-year-old prodigy, tipped to follow Luke Littler to the top of the darts world, made his three throws count.
The cameraman had zoomed in on treble 19, expecting him to aim there.
However, Banks instead went straight for the bull.
That set him on a path to needing two more.
And he duly delivered to move 2-1 ahead in the match, turning to the camera with his arms raised out either side of him.
PDC stage official Owen Binks was stunned at the trip.
Taking to social media, he said: "Refereed nearly 6000 matches for this business and that is arguably the greatest thing I've seen!!
"TAKE A BOW THOMAS BANKS!!!"
Other fans joined the chorus of applause for The Bulldog.
One fan said: "Top arrows. Don't think I've ever seen that before."
A second said: "Beautiful that."
Another said: "There you go, this lad has it. Brilliant darts, just take a bow right now Thomas."
A fourth added: "Brilliant checkout 150."
Banks used the momentum of the 150 to win the match 4-1, which had followed a run of four defeats on the spin at the Super Series.
He won the series last year, in similar fashion to Littler who had won it on his route to the PDC before eventually winning the World Championship.
List of all-time Darts World Champions
BELOW is a list of darts world champions by year.
The list does not include winners from the pre-Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) era or BDO world champions.
That means Raymond van Barneveld, for example, is only listed once - Barney also won four BDO titles - and none of Eric Bristow's five BDO titles are included.
1994 - Dennis Priestley
1995 - Phil Taylor
1996 - Phil Taylor (2)
1997 - Phil Taylor (3)
1998 - Phil Taylor (4)
1999 - Phil Taylor (5)
2000 - Phil Taylor (6)
2001 - Phil Taylor (7)
2002 - Phil Taylor (8)
2003 - John Part
2004 - Phil Taylor (9)
2005 - Phil Taylor (10)
2006 - Phil Taylor (11)
2007 - Raymond van Barneveld
2008 - John Part (2)
2009 - Phil Taylor (12)
2010 - Phil Taylor (13)
2011 - Adrian Lewis
2012 - Adrian Lewis (2)
2013 - Phil Taylor (14)
2014 - Michael van Gerwen
2015 - Gary Anderson
2016 - Gary Anderson (2)
2017 - Michael van Gerwen (2)
2018 - Rob Cross
2019 - Michael van Gerwen (3)
2020 - Peter Wright
2021 - Gerwyn Price
2022 - Peter Wright (2)
2023 - Michael Smith
2024 - Luke Humphries
2025 - Luke Littler
Most World Titles
14 - Phil Taylor
3 - Michael van Gerwen
2 - John Part, Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright
1 - Dennis Priestley, Raymond van Barneveld, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Luke Humphries, Luke Littler
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
10 minutes ago
- Reuters
Hamilton in 'big, big push' to speed up Ferrari
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium, July 24 (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton said he refused to be another name on the list of Formula One champions who failed to win a title for Ferrari, and was making "a big, big push" back at the factory to help boost the chances of success. The seven-times world champion and record race winner, who moved from Mercedes to Maranello this season, has yet to stand on the podium after 12 races with the sport's oldest, most glamorous and successful team. Ferrari has not won a drivers' title since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007. "I see a huge amount of potential within this team. The passion -- nothing comes close to that. But it's a huge organisation, and there are a lot of moving parts," Hamilton told reporters on Thursday at the Belgian Grand Prix. "And not all of them are firing on all the cylinders that they need to be. That's ultimately why the team has not had the success that I think it deserves. "So, I feel that it's my job to challenge absolutely every area, to challenge everybody in the team -- particularly the guys that are at the top who are making the decisions." Hamilton named Raikkonen, seemingly forgetting that the Finn won his sole title with Ferrari, along with multiple world champions Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel on a list of those who ended up frustrated with their stint in red. "I refuse for that to be the case with me," said the 40-year-old Briton, who wants an eighth title but knows time is not on his side. "So I'm going the extra mile. "I think if you take the same path all the time, you get the same results. So I'm just challenging certain things. They've been incredibly responsive. We've been improving in so many areas." Hamilton said he had been busy at the factory since his home grand prix at Silverstone, where he finished fourth, holding meetings and going over everything that he felt needed to change. He has called meetings attended by leaders from various departments as well as principal Fred Vasseur. "I've sent documents... after the first few races I did a full document for the team. Then during this break, I had another two documents that I sent in, and then I come in and want to address those," he said. "Some of it's structural adjustments that we need to make as a team in order to get better in all the areas we want to improve. "And the other one was really about the car -- the current issues that I have, some things that you do want to take on to next year's car, and some that you need to work on changing." Hamilton is sixth in the standings, 16 points behind fifth-placed teammate Charles Leclerc. He has so far beaten the Monegasque only twice in regular grands prix. The Briton won in Belgium last year, his 105th and most recent win.
The Independent
10 minutes ago
- The Independent
Christian Horner exit doesn't affect my Red Bull future
Max Verstappen says Christian Horner's sudden dismissal does not guarantee his future at Red Bull. Horner will not be at a Formula One race for the first time in two decades for this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix after he was 'released' as team principal and CEO 16 days ago. His departure came 17 months after he was accused by a female staff member of 'inappropriate behaviour'. The 51-year-old, who oversaw 14 world championships, always denied the claims and was twice exonerated. The allegations coincided with a slump in Red Bull's form, with Verstappen taking just four victories from his last 26 appearances. He is 69 points off the championship pace at the midway stage of the season. Verstappen's father Jos claimed back in March of last year that Red Bull would 'explode' if Horner was not moved on, and it had been speculated that Horner's dismissal was a power play by the Verstappen camp. But when asked if Horner's exit will affect whether he stays beyond this season, Verstappen said: 'No, it doesn't really. 'People can have a difference of opinion, and I actually expect that to happen because if everyone always agrees, there is a problem. 'We work in a different direction, I'm excited about it, but I don't think it will matter at all for my decision in the future. The last one and a half years have not been what we want to be. Now we will try and be more competitive.' Verstappen, 27, has a contract with Red Bull until 2028, although a performance-related clause could activate an early release. Mercedes are known to be admirers and Toto Wolff and Verstappen were recently in Sardinia. However, both parties have dismissed their respective holidays as a coincidence. Pressed as to whether there is a possibility he will not drive for Red Bull beyond this year, four-time world champion Verstappen replied: 'There is also a possibility I don't wake up tomorrow. So then there is no driving at all. Life is unpredictable. 'But I'm very happy where I'm at. The target we set out when we signed the new deal was that I would drive here until the end of my career.' Verstappen revealed he has been in touch with Horner but said 'time will tell' whether his sudden departure is the right decision. The F1 team's parent company, Red Bull GmbH, did not specify a reason behind Horner's exit. Verstappen continued: 'Management and the shareholders decided that they wanted a change. They run the team. And I'm the driver, so whatever they decide, it's fully in their right to do what they want. 'You look back at those 20 years of Red Bull and we've had a lot of great years and great results. Management decided they wanted to steer the ship in a different direction. 'Looking back doesn't make sense. It's not going to make you faster. But at the same time, we do appreciate and remember those 20 years. And the relationship between myself and Christian doesn't change. Of course, he's not here now during a race weekend. But it's still like a second family to me.' Lewis Hamilton will contest his 369th race on Sunday, but the first of his long career without rival Horner, whose shoes will be filled by Frenchman Laurent Mekies, on the Red Bull pit wall. 'I was neither surprised nor unsurprised,' said Hamilton. 'It doesn't change anything in my life. 'I sat with Christian in his office back in 2005, and I was in Formula Three and looking to go into GP2. He was with Arden. 'I wouldn't say we hit it off from the get-go but to see his progression and his career, it was clearly remarkable what he did with the team with a huge group of amazing people. 'To run an organisation that big and that well takes talent and skill and that is what he brought to the team. I wish him all the best.'
The Independent
10 minutes ago
- The Independent
Who is Oscar Onley? The talented Scot breaking through at the Tour de France
Viewers scanning the Tour de France general classification will see a mix of wholly expected names and some comparative unknowns. Tadej Pogacar leads the standings as his era-defining dominance continues; Jonas Vingegaard sits second behind his longtime rival. But accompanying the rider sitting fourth in the overall standings is a British flag: not former Tour de France winner and veteran Geraint Thomas, but the up-and-coming youngster Oscar Onley. The 22-year-old has been enjoying a breakout season and is in action in just his second Tour de France. He and his team came in targeting a stage win but are on course for a top-five finish, and very possibly a podium place, at the sport's biggest race. With every passing stage he has surpassed both his own expectations and that of all observers. So who is Onley, and what's behind his meteoric rise? Onley grew up in the Scottish Borders town of Kelso and was inspired to start cycling by the fact that the time-trial route for his local club, Kelso Wheelers, went right past his house. The youngster was soon hooked, and while he could have had a future as an elite cross-country runner, he eventually opted for two wheels instead. He raced in Europe as a junior before joining the development team of his current squad, Picnic PostNL, in 2021. His breakthrough win came in 2022 at the Giro Valle d'Aosta, an Italian stage race, before he finished third at the CRO Race - a stage race in Croatia - and he made the step up to WorldTour racing in 2023. He finished third at the Tour de Suisse, behind Joao Almeida and Kevin Vauquelin (AP) Onley picked up a few top-10s in his debut WorldTour season, including at major stage races the Tour de Romandie and the Criterium du Dauphine, but his Grand Tour debut didn't go to plan. The youngster was part of DSM-Firmenich's win in the team time trial on stage one of the 2023 Vuelta a Espana, but he crashed and broke his collarbone on stage two and was forced to abandon the race. But 2024 was to prove a standout year. He kicked it off in style with his first professional win at the Tour Down Under, the season-opening stage race in Australia, on the famous Willunga Hill climb, and finished fourth overall. He was 39th in his first full Grand Tour - last year's Tour de France - with his best result a fifth place on stage 17 to Superdevoluy, a tough mountain stage won by Richard Carapaz. He finished second overall at the Tour of Britain, winning the best young rider classification, and was the highest-placed British rider in the gruelling World Championships road race in Zurich. This year he has built on those experiences: he was fifth overall at the UAE Tour - won by Pogacar - then ninth at Itzulia Basque Country and third overall at the Tour de Suisse, a phenomenal race for the 22-year-old. Onley was seventh in stage 13's mountainous time trial (AFP via Getty Images) He took a stage win on Stage 5, beating overall winner Joao Almeida on a stage featuring four category-one climbs, and clearly rode into his best form at the perfect time with the Tour de France on the horizon. Having moved from the rolling Scottish hills to the mountains of Andorra, the 22-year-old is most at home when the gradient kicks up. So far in this Tour he has finished third, fourth twice, fifth, seventh, and sixth twice, with three of those fine results coming on gruelling back-to-back Pyrenean stages. While Onley is a pure climber, his seventh place on stage 13's mountainous time trial indicated that that sort of terrain against the clock also suits him well, which bodes well for a future as a serious GC contender. He was distanced by the likes of Vingegaard and Pogacar at the toughest gradients on the road stages to Hautacam and Superbagneres, but has shown he can ride his own pace to limit his losses, and has ridden a very mature race to rise to fourth overall. Onley follows Vingegaard and Pogacar on the toughest slopes of Col de la Loze (AP) Nowhere was that more on show than on the queen stage of the Tour: stage 18 from Vif to Courchevel, with the summit finish 2,304m above sea level on the mythical Col de la Loze. Onley was distanced on the day's second HC climb, the Col de la Madeleine, but paced himself well and was rejoined by his teammates on the valley road to Col de la Loze. With their support he conserved his energy and ultimately was the final GC rider to stick with Vingegaard and Pogacar on the steepest upper slopes of the formidable climb, only dropping in the closing few hundred metres. After stage 16's race to Mont Ventoux he was 2'01' behind Florian Lipowitz, the current third-placed rider and leader in the best young rider classification, but the queen stage saw him shave that deficit down to just 22 seconds, meaning Onley has a fine chance of both taking the white jersey in Paris and third spot on the podium. At the same time he built his advantage to 1'26' over five-time Grand Tour winner Primoz Roglic, Lipowitz's Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammate, who currently sits fifth. The Scot has consistently stuck with the yellow jersey group and finished third behind Pogacar and Vingegaard on stage seven (AFP via Getty Images) By the end of the second week, it looked as though the Scot himself was starting to believe he is real deal. He told ITV4 on Monday, 'It's something I wasn't expecting. It's really been a successful week, the Hautacam stage gave me a lot of confidence on the first climb, when I saw Remco [Evenepoel] being dropped and [Matteo] Jorgenson in trouble and I still felt really good. That was my first real test in the mountains with multiple climbs. 'The last day in the Pyrenees [stage 14 to Superbagneres] was the hardest stage for sure. I didn't feel super good that day but looking around, no one felt that good. Each stage that passes I'm gaining more confidence. 'The team have a lot of confidence in me, and maybe sometimes I need to have a little bit more confidence in myself. But that's starting to come now and I'm starting to see my place in the peloton and finding my way.' The team have insisted throughout this Tour that Onley is riding a 'relaxed GC', without any pressure on his shoulders, and that voyage of discovery of what exactly he's capable of continues this week, with one major day of climbing in the Alps left on Friday. Onley was fifth on stage 12 to Hautacam, behind only his GC rivals (AFP via Getty Images) And with the retirement of Romain Bardet, Picnic PostNL's veteran climber and GC rider, Onley is coming of age at just the right time - along with fellow 22-year-old British talent Max Poole, who represent a bright future for British GC hopefuls. Picnic PostNL's sports director Matt Winston told Velo this week, 'I think he's an incredible talent. He works hard, he's a quiet guy. But he is very thoughtful, very reflective. And he's doing a really good job.' Onley's ambitions of winning a stage at this Tour have been somewhat thwarted by his lofty position in the general classification, meaning that Pogacar and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG outfit will never let him go in a breakaway. That means that in order to win a stage the Scot will have to stick with Pogacar, Vingegaard, and the GC group in the high mountains and overhaul them. It's a daunting task for anyone, but he has already demonstrated he can stick with them. And regardless of the final outcome in Paris, Onley has marked himself out as a huge name to watch for the future.
