World number one Michael van Gerwen had a pint of beer thrown in his face by a spectator before his second round Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Championship match against Alan Tabern on Sunday (NZ time).
The two-time world champion was waiting for his turn to walk on stage when he was attacked, leaving the Dutchman visibly shocked at the Alexandra Palace in London.
He went backstage to change his shirt before returning to the oche some minutes later, appearing very upset - but he didn't let the unsavoury incident affect his performance.
The 29-year-old averaged 102.59, threw four maximums and had a checkout percentage of 55 as he went onto win the match 3-1, and earn a date against German youngster Max Hopp in the next round.
Sky Sports UK commentator Dave Clark confirmed after the match the beer-thrower was removed "immediately" and has been "banned" from darts events for life.
Van Gerwen told Sky Sports that he was rattled by the incident.
"It never happened to me before - I had two pints of drink on my head," he said.
"I was so angry, but what can you do? The only thing I could do was change my shirt and wash my hands.
"We throw darts with our hands and every little thing on your hands gives you a different feeling. It was quite difficult and I was a little bit emotional, but I'm glad I won this game."
Earlier in the session, New Zealand's Craig Ross lost to Spain's Tony Alcinas 3-0, while English dup Ryan Searle also Keegan Brown recorded wins by the same scoreline against their opponents.
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