SAKAI ADMITS HE PLAYED DARTS TO GET THE GIRLS!

MADCAP Motomu Sakai reckons daft dancing makes his darts fly and got into the game so he could be popular amongst the GIRLS.

The colourful Japanese sealed his spot as a new cult hero of the Ally Pally with a showman’s display and winning performance.

Sakai hammered Frenchman Thibault Tricole and his outrageous antics were even more impressive than his superb play.

The 28-year-old danced his way onto the stage during a brilliant walk-on and didn’t stop entertaining with big celebrations and a fun-filled approach all the way over the line.

Sakai’s show had the Ally Pally crowd cheering and chanting his name and he loved every second of the chaos and the carry-on. 

Nicknamed The Creature, he monstered Tricole with a brilliant effort and was full of the joys after his impressive success as he aimed to hit the town for a sing-song to go with his dancing.

Sakai spoke through a translator and said: “Is there karaoke here? In London? Yes, I will sing then! Have I always been this crazy on stage? Yes.

“I always make weird faces and everybody tells me that I look like a Creature when I do that. I believe that the more I dance, the more my darts fly well. I just feel very happy. I was hoping for a 3-2 win.

“I could hear everything, all the support from behind me. That gave me a lot of power. Thank you very much. I will keep dancing.”

Sakai hopes the victory will have been taken in by the public in his homeland with the game rising in Japan and he added: “I was very nervous. I hope 100 per cent of the Japanese people were watching me.”

The Asian ace is now going to be a big draw when he takes to the stage again for his next encounter on Saturday.

Sakai is going to face Sweden’s Andreas Harrysson in round two and he believes he has the talent to overcome the bearded Scandinavian.

He said: “I’m ready for him. I’m happy that the Asian level has risen a lot and that has helped me.

“I hope there will be more opportunities for Asian players to come over here.”

Of course, the chances of the Japanese ousting Luke Littler as the champion or defeating superstars such as Gerwyn Price or Luke Humphries is slim.

But, if he were to make the near-impossible a reality, Sakai knows what his plans are as he said: “My aim is to be a champion. If I won £1million, I would give some gifts to my mother and family.

“When I was 16 years old, I was told by my friends that I could become popular among girls if I played darts, so that is why I started.”

Image by TAYLOR LANNING