Darts results: David Munyua and Motomu Sakai wins hearts of the Ally Pally with two incredible victories at the PDC World Darts Championship

Motomu Sakai initially became the Ally Pally's new cult hero with a crazy walk-on that he backed up with a roof-raising victory on his debut.

Little was known about Japan's new darting sensation before Thursday afternoon but within minutes of his arrival on stage to face France's Thibault Tricole, he had already written himself into Ally Pally folklore.

It then quickly became apparent that Sakai, who qualified via his performances on the Asian Tour, was much more than just a crazy dancer as he kept the crowd on their feet throughout a dramatic first set in which he produced a stunning 121 checkout on the bullseye before clinching it 3-2.

Another show-stopping 148 checkout helped him on his way to taking the second set 3-2 - despite the best efforts of the Ally Pally wasp at a decisive moment in the deciding leg - and then cruised through the third 3-0 to wrap up a fantastic victory.

Sakai's celebrations throughout the match went viral on social media and there's no doubt millions will be tuning in for his next encounter against either Dave Chisnall or Fallon Sherrock.

“I just feel very happy,” said Sakai, who won four PDC Asian Tour titles in 2025.

“The more I dance, the more my darts fly well!

“I could hear all the support from behind me, it was giving me a lot of power - thank you very much.”

As if that wasn't enough, Munyua then came from 2-0 down to pull off one of the greatest upsets of all time against Mike de Decker.

Munyua was a 10/1 outsider having earned his place in the field via the African qualifier, his seasonal average at home in Kenya only in the mid-70s and almost 20 points lower than his opponent's.

Having trailed 2-0 this looked set to live up to expectations as a routine win for De Decker, but after Munyua won the third set De Decker missed match darts to allow his opponent to draw level and set up a nervy decider.

De Decker started set five with a bang but a 135 finish from the first Kenyan player ever to feature in the World Championship made it 1-1, before more costly missed doubles from the favourite saw him trail for the first time.

Munyua held his nerve throwing for the match, hitting double 20 at the third attempt, as 34 missed doubles from De Decker proved costly.

"It is amazing. I didn’t expect it. But now it has happened and I’m happy about it," Munyua told Sky Sports.

"It is a very big moment for the sport itself, for Africa and Kenya. It is humbling. The sport can grow. I’m happy I did my best."

Elsewhere in the afternoon session, Callan Rydz swept aside Patrik Kovacs with a whitewash win to ensure his progression to round two while Ryan Joyce eased past Owen Bates in a straight-sets victory.

Joyce averaged over a ton in the opening two sets and finished the match with a trademark exemplary performance on the outer-ring, hitting 64% of his doubles

MVG survives scare

Elsewhere, Michael van Gerwen survived a huge scare against Mitsuhiko Tatsunami, coming out a 3-1 winner despite falling behind by a set and two legs to nil at one stage.

The three-time World Champion rallied and won nine of the remaining 12 legs to edge through, surviving nine set darts from Tatsunami in the fourth and final set.

“It wasn’t the best performance, but at least I won,” said Van Gerwen, who plays Krzysztof Kciuk or William O’Connor in round two.

“The most important thing in round one of the World Championship is to survive and win.

"Everyone was thinking 'Michael will whitewash him 3-0', that's not how it works anymore.

“I shouldn't put myself in that position. I'm bigger than that, but that's darts.”

Dave Chisnall hit 47% of his double attempts to power past Fallon Sherrock 3-0 and will face Ricardo Pietrezcko in round two.

Chisnall, a former semi-finalist at Alexandra Palace, dropped one leg in racing to a 2-0 lead, before punishing missed opportunities from Sherrock in set three to complete a straight-sets win.

Jermaine Wattimena battled through a tough affair against Dominik Gruellich to win 3-2 and set up a round two clash with former semi-finalist Scott Williams.

The Dutchman had trailed 2-1, but dug deep, rattling off six legs on the spin to see out the final two sets and complete the comeback.

Krzysztof Ratajski.

Ratajski himself progressed thanks to a 3-0 demolition job over Alexis Toylo, winning nine of the 11 legs on offer in the match.

The Polish number one averaged over 97 and hit 50% of his double attempts during his standout performance of Thursday evening, which featured a spectacular 170 checkout.

Thursday results & Friday schedule

Thursday December 18
Afternoon Session (12.30pm GMT)
First Round (Best of 5 sets)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts

• Callan Rydz 3-0 Patrik Kovacs
• Thibault Tricole 0-3 Motomu Sakai
• Ryan Joyce 3-0 Owen Bates
• Mike De Decker 2-3 David Munyua

Evening Session (7pm GMT)
First Round (Best of 5 sets)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts

• Jermaine Wattimena 3-2 Dominik Gruellich
• Dave Chisnall 3-0 Fallon Sherrock
• Michael van Gerwen 3-1 Mitsuhiko Tatsunami
• Krzysztof Ratajski 3-0 Alexis Toylo

Friday December 19
Afternoon Session (12.30pm GMT)
First Round (Best of 5 sets)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts

• Kevin Doets v Matthew Dennant
• Ryan Meikle v Jesus Salate
• Mickey Mansell v Leonard Gates
• Josh Rock v Gemma Hayter

Evening Session (7pm GMT)
First Round (Best of 5 sets)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts

• William O’Connor v Krzysztof Kciuk
• Daryl Gurney v Beau Greaves
• Nathan Aspinall v Lourence Ilagan
• Keane Barry v Tim Pusey

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