Pioneer Vladyslav Omelchenko has been practising for his moment in the Alexandra Palace spotlight debut by the glow of a lantern and to a soundtrack of distant explosions.
But blackouts and bombs in his war-torn homeland won't stop Omelchenko fulfilling his dream of becoming a darts trailblazer on Sunday. When he becomes the first Ukrainian to compete at the Cazoo PDC Darts World Championship, he is assured of a hero's welcome from the 3,300 crowd – even though he has never played in front of more than 100 fans before.
The Vlady of the lamp can't wait to escape the sirens warning of incoming missiles from Russia to sample the 'normality' of Ally Pally's fancy dress legions. And he will be carrying a torch for freedom fighters against warmonger Vladimir Putin's tyranny in his first round match against Luke Woodhouse on Sunday.
