Cameron Crabtree has recalled the amusing moment he became an unlikely hero to African darts fans after David Munyua used a set of his darts during a memorable 3-2 win against Mike De Decker in the first round of the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship.
The Kenyan produced one of the biggest upsets of the tournament to take out the former World Grand Prix champion, making himself very popular at Ally Pally and a fan favourite in the process. He was not able to continue this magical run, losing 3-0 against Kevin Doets in the next round.
Watching on was Crabtree, who had already played and lost his maiden PDC World Darts Championship match. Supporting a good friend, he looked on in disbelief at the events unfolding on that stage. "I was actually there that day because Owen Bates was playing, so I went to watch him," he said on the Weekly Dartscast. "Everyone was sat in the back room, and I had my nose practically pressed against the TV."
He reacted by heading onto X to engage with the ongoing discussion. "I was pretty sure they were my darts. Then I went on Twitter, and all anyone was talking about was that he'd won and was using my darts. My darts were there, but I wasn't, which isn't ideal, but it was funny."
Munyua was an overnight success and a hugely popular figure in Africa. The Kenyan made history in the process, and African darts fans were quick to thank Crabtree for what they thought was him helping out Munyua. "I had loads of African followers come through, and they were all messaging me, saying, 'Oh, thank you for letting our brother use your darts. David is now the light of Africa in darts, and you've helped him, so thank you.'"
The 23-year-old quickly found the funny side, with him in fact having no part to play in it. "I found it quite amusing because I hadn't actually done anything. He'd obviously just got the darts. It wasn't as though I'd given them to him or anything like that. But all these people were really grateful to me, which was nice and quite amusing."
Crabtree has confirmed his spot in back-to-back PDC World Darts Championships. He will hope to make more of an impact than last year, but has the pressure of chasing a Tour Card off his shoulders with him set to continue competing among the elite in 2027.
