Disorderly crowd riots halt Michael van Gerwen's game, leading to police intervention
In the year 2015, a darts match between Michael van Gerwen and Simon Whitlock at Melbourne's Etihad Stadium took an unexpected turn, as a riot broke out among the fans. The incident, which occurred during the Darts Invitational Challenge, left the seating area in disarray and raised questions about the future of major darts championships in Melbourne.
The wild scenes were described as an "absolute mess" and a "real riot mentality" by one attendee. People were diving on top of tables, causing a huge mess, and groups of fans grappled with one another. Some fans even attempted to build a pyramid out of chairs, but this resulted in plastic chairs being hurled and tables being overturned.
The situation got out of hand, with entire rows of chairs being demolished. Riot police were eventually brought in to restore order, but they arrived too late to prevent the chaos. Forty fans were ejected from the stadium, with three receiving treatment for minor injuries.
Despite the chaos, Michael van Gerwen managed to emerge victorious, winning the final 9-8 after trailing 5-1 and 8-4. The look on his face after winning was one of pure disgust, as he took in the wreckage caused by the rioting fans.
The incident was not the first time such behaviour had been seen among darts crowds. Over-the-top behaviour and wild costumes are regular fixtures among darts fans, adding to the rowdy atmosphere of the events.
Following the incident, stadium communications manager Bill Lane confirmed that there would be a major debrief and discussions with police and security contractors to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. The ugly scenes put the possibility of future major darts championships in Melbourne in doubt.
It's worth noting that the Melbourne Darts Masters became a regular fixture on the PDC calendar between 2017 and 2019. However, it has not returned since the 2019 event.
In a more recent development, Luke Littler won both the Australian and New Zealand Masters this year, demonstrating that the sport of darts in Australia is still thriving, despite the incident from 2015.
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