Darts star refuses handshake and leaves rival baffled after Players Championship collapse

Darts star James Hurrell refused to shake hands with Sebastian Bialecki in mysterious circumstances at Players Championship 13. Bialecki did not appear to do much wrong apart from capitalise on Hurrell's game collapsing after taking a commanding lead early in their match.

Hurrell, nicknamed 'Hillbilly', was 3-0 up and cruising in the first round of the event in Rosmalen on Monday. His grip on the match slipped through his fingers, but even when Bialecki forced a tense last-leg decider, Hurrell still had the advantage of throwing first. That went out of the window when Bialecki clinically took out 86 and snatched the win in agonising fashion for his opponent.

The first signs that Hurrell was growing agitated emerged shortly before the end of the contest, when he paused his throw to stare down Bialecki on the oche. There was more animosity after Bialecki pinned double seven, as Hurrell thanked the referee but then refused his rival's outstretched hand.

Bialecki looked completely perplexed as Hurrell snubbed his handshake and pointed an index finger in his direction. Commentator Dan Dawson was also bamboozled.

He said: "Hurrell is annoyed for reasons I have absolutely no clue about. Bialecki has done nothing wrong there apart from the fact he has punished mistakes from Hurrell."

Hurrell received backlash from darts fans when the clip circulated on social media. X user wrote: "Quite like Hurrell but clearly just a bit of headloss I reckon. Shame really." And posted: "If you're getting annoyed by Bialecki of all people you're doing something wrong."

Others thought they had sussed out why Hurrell was so angry, with writing: "Slow play and rustling his darts when behind the thrower I would guess [is the reason from] looking at the clip." A couple of fans suggested that Bialecki repeatedly asking the referee whether his dart had gone in the single or treble throughout the match was the source of Hurrell's frustration.

Hurrell, perhaps sarcastically, paused his final throw to ask the referee where his own dart had landed. And he cracked a wry smile when Bialecki did the same thing midway through his decisive 86 checkout.

Bialecki's Players Championship 13 journey would not end up going much further, as he was dismantled 6-0 by Cameron Menzies in the next round. Damon Heta went on to win the event by beating Nathan Aspinall 8-6 in the final.

Hurrell and Bialecki are both on the entry list for Players Championship 14 on Tuesday as part of the ProTour's two-day excursion to the Netherlands.