Darts fans have been left dumbfounded by the astonishing beer prices at the Premier League finals night in The O2 on Thursday night.
Fans flocked in their thousands to get a glimpse of golden boy, Luke Littler, as he tried to retain his crown and stamp his authority on the darting world once again.
The 18-year-old, who was favourite to win the Premier League for the second year on the spin, managed to weather an early storm against the ever-effervescent Gerwyn Price in the semi-final.
It set up a re-run of last year’s showpiece with Luke Humphries, with ‘Cool Hand’ looking to get revenge over the boy who stole his world crown in January.
And revenge he got, beating Littler to show why he remains world No1, and in turn disappoint the 15,000 sell-out crowd which was littered with purple shirts – the colour synonymous with the boy wonder.
However, the result was not the only thing to leave supporters stunned. The price list of alcoholic beverages left many incensed, with the ‘cheapest’ pint – a Budweiser – costing £9.25.
Prices of beers at The O2 had hiked from the already ‘disgusting’ prices at last year’s final
One darts fan took to social media to vent their evident disgust at the beer prices on Thursday
Luke Littler failed to retain his Premier League crown and was left gutted on the O2 stage
The price was a 30p increase compared to the year prior, which was already branded ‘disgusting’ by fans, and other beers were even more expensive.
Camden Pale Ale and Camden Hells Lager were both priced at a staggering £9.80, a price hike of 55p and 30p respectively.
One darts fan in attendance took to social media to seemingly vent their disgust at the cost of refreshments, posting a picture of the event with the caption: ‘Premier League final (a). £9.80 a pint [sick emoji].’
Another fan could only laugh at the quality of the pint he had been given at such an expensive price.
‘£9.80 for a pint at the O2 and that’s what you get?’ he wrote, followed by three laughing face emojis, and a picture of a flat beer.
Another audience member simply couldn’t stomach paying the extortionate prices and opted to stick to a much cheaper drink.
‘£9.50 for a pint of BUDWEISER at the O2 tonight. Turned back round and chugged my water,’ the X user wrote.
While the price of pints was at the forefront of a lot of fans’ minds, the O2 also took a lot of heat for its inability to generate sustainable noise throughout the night.
World No 1 Luke Humphries triumphed over the teenage star in a repeat of last year’s final
Supporters were incensed at the quality of the beer they had been poured considering how much they paid
On social media, a user wrote: ‘The O2 is far too big for the Premier League Darts. Void of any true atmosphere, much like it is when there’s a gig there. £9.80 a pint, too.’
Despite the complaints from crowd members, they were still treated to an enjoyable night of entertainment on the oche.
Humphries was rocked early as he missed six darts at double to hold. Littler took advantage. Humphries got on the board to make it 3-1 with a nice two-dart combo to take out 66 and a clunky leg with Littler stuck on double one got us back on throw. But these two throw quickly, and before you could blink it was 5-5 at the interval.
The 2024 world champ then broke right out the blocks to lead for the first time and once again seemingly had a new lease of life after the interval.
The game threatened to race away as the two threw quicker and better. The game had become a best of six – the format they have been used to in this year’s tournament – and it was running away. Crucially, though, Humphries had the break.
And it was that break that proved pivotal. Littler continued to hold, but just could not break his arch-rival. A nervy double two took him to one leg away and left Littler needing to win three legs on the trot.
He couldn’t muster one. Humphries, the 11-8 winner in the final, threw his final dart after pinning a final double worth £275,000. Just the £125,000 for Littler.
