Emma Paton steals the show in Rotterdam as Dutch crowd go wild for Sky Sports presenter

Night 11 of the Premier League Darts took place yesterday at a packed-out Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam. Chris Dobey claimed the nightly title with an impressive 6-2 victory over Stephen Bunting in the final. But it wasn’t just the darts that got people talking - someone else stole the spotlight.

Once again, the Rotterdam crowd filled every seat to cheer on their favourite players, especially Dutch hero Michael van Gerwen. However, their hopes were quickly dashed as Van Gerwen was knocked out in the quarter-finals by Stephen Bunting.

With their local favourite out, fans turned their support to the remaining players - but another figure drew a surprising amount of attention. British broadcaster Sky Sports was on-site covering the event, and popular presenter Emma Paton had made the trip to the Netherlands. Her appearances on the arena’s big screens sparked loud cheers from the crowd every time she popped up. “Emma Paton gets applause every time she appears on screen. What a sport,” one person posted on X (formerly Twitter).

“Great sense of humour from the Rotterdam crowd, cheering every time Emma Paton shows up on the screen,” wrote another. Someone else simply remarked that Paton looked “delightful.”

Emma Paton became the main presenter for Sky Sports’ darts coverage in early 2022, and has since earned a very positive reputation amongst the darting community, filling the gap on Sky Sports left by the retiring Dave Clark.

The Premier League Darts continues next week in Liverpool, where Luke Littler still leads the standings with a seven-point advantage over Luke Humphries. Nathan Aspinall currently sits in third, trailing Littler by 13 points. Dutch hero Michael van Gerwen meanwhile, is currently just outside the play-off spots in fifth place, although level on points with 4th placed Gerwyn Price, as only left difference separates the pair.