Cult hero Leonard Gates was at the centre of a bizarre confrontation during the World Seniors Championship.
Gates was up against Englishman Graham Usher in the quarter-final of the tournament, which was the best of three sets.
@SeniorsDarts on XGates struggled to find his form against Usher in the World Seniors Championship[/caption]
Unfortunately for Gates, he was down two sets to one when their contest took a tense turn.
Gates, who was one leg up in the fourth set, needed double 20 to take the second leg.
The American’s first attempt landed above the wire, but he didn’t miss with his second dart to go 2-0 up in the fourth set.
After pinning the double 20, Gates, who was due to throw first in the third leg, walked back to his table to reset himself.
For a brief moment, Usher thought he was going to throw first.
But upon realising it was Gates who would have the honours, the Brit stood only a few feet from his rival and stared at him.
However, Gates was reluctant to make eye contact and instead stared off into a different direction before strolling up to the oche.
One commentator expressed his bafflement at the scenes that had just unfolded.
“Look at this,” the commentator said.
“Look at him. Graham thought he was throwing first, then he just stood there and stared at Leonard Gates.
@SeniorsDarts on XUsher stared down Gates, but the American didn’t want to engage[/caption]
“And Leonard Gates seemed totally unaware of it.”
The World Seniors Darts account on X posted the exchange along with the caption: “WHAT HAS HAPPENED THERE?! Graham Usher loses the leg and then just stares at Leonard Gates???”
It seemed Usher’s stare down threw Gates off of his game, as the Middlesbrough native came from two legs down to win the fourth set and ultimately the match 3-1.
The win for Usher booked him a spot in the semi-finals against Wales’ Derek Coulson.
Gates’ loss meant he would not replicate his iconic dance moves that made him a fan favourite at the 2025 World Darts Championship.
The American, who was a former baseballer, showed off his moves in a hilarious walk-on ahead of his first round match against Cameron Menzies.
PDCGates brought the funk during his walk-ons at this year’s World Darts Championship[/caption]
Gates also had plenty of cracking reactions whenever he landed a big checkout as he produced a 3-1 upset of Menzies.
Unfortunately for Menzies, the Ally Pally crowd was not on his side and it came to a head upon the final dart as the Scot was seen visibly emotional.
Gates’ World Championship run was ended in his next game as he bowed out to Nathan Aspinall.