A legend leaves the stage of Alexandra Palace: It is John McDonald’s last Darts World Championship as Master of Ceremonies. In a major SPORT1 farewell interview, the Englishman talks about saving a darts professional’s life, how he made Phil Taylor cry – and how he envisions his ‘goodbye’.
When his voice rings out, even the Ally Pally falls silent. “Ladies and Gentleman,” he begins his speech – a polite Brit indeed. “And the millions joining us around the world. It’s time to welcome the players.” By now, every darts fan knows we are just before the walk-ons. The Master of Ceremonies, John McDonald, personally opens the roaring darts party with his words. On January 3rd, McDonald will do this one last time.
Because then it’s over, after 19 years on tour. No more announcements. No more Ally Pally stage. The legend retires.
SPORT1 now met the 65-year-old for a major farewell interview at Alexandra Palace. McDonald insisted on having tea backstage. They could talk in peace. It reflects the image of a man who controls the masses on stage and yet, in private, values eye-level in every conversation.
Farewell to the Darts World Championship? “I won’t miss it”
SPORT1: Mr. McDonald, you have announced over 1,000 walk-ons at the Darts World Championship in Alexandra Palace. Will you miss it?
John McDonald: No. I won’t miss it. What I will miss are the people around. They are the best I have ever worked with.
SPORT1: How did you come to the decision to quit after the 2026 World Championship?
McDonald: I didn’t wake up one day and decided I was going to leave darts. I thought about it long and hard. The problem with retirement is: either I go completely or not at all. I have a great commitment to my family. My wife has always looked after our family. I was never a part of it. Now I have eight grandchildren and it’s important to me to spend time with them. It’s a good time to go.
Special evening for McDonald
SPORT1: On January 3rd, you will have your last big appearance in the World Championship final. Do you think the emotionality of the situation will overwhelm you?
McDonald: My wife and my four sons will be there. They’ve never been there to see me before. So, what do you think?
SPORT1: Especially since it will also be a historic evening for the sport of darts.
McDonald: It’s about a million pounds, that’s a record. The highest prize money in history to be won by a darts player. That alone says everything about this moment.
SPORT1: How are you preparing for it?
McDonald: It will be the last time anyone hears me professionally. I have to make it something very special. I will think about it intensely. If I succeed, I will write down a few bullet points.
When John McDonald Saved a Life
SPORT1: Let’s look back together at your past almost two decades with the PDC. Are you proud of this time?
McDonald: Certainly! But I have to be honest: there were terrible times. I asked myself: ‘What am I doing here? This is crazy.’ In 2007, there was a match between the best player of the BDO (British Darts Organisation, Editor’s note ), that was Andy Fordham – and Phil Taylor from the PDC. Barry Hearn told me: ‘We want you to do it. You don’t need to know anything about it. Just come and do a good job.’ I got there, and the evening turned into a huge disaster.
McDonald: Fordham wasn’t well, in fact, very bad. People were standing around him in front of the hall. I’m a qualified paramedic; I sent them all away, laid him on the ground, and put him in the shock position. Then I felt his pulse in his neck, and it was almost through the roof. So I immediately made an emergency call and said: ‘We have a 45-year-old man here who weighs 240 kilograms. Bring a defibrillator and a lot of adrenaline; Otherwise, there’s no way we can keep him alive.’ The guy was close to death. Then I had to go on stage and spoke to the people, announced Phil Taylor as the winner, and drove home. I just thought: Never again, oh my God! What a nightmare! The next day, Barry Hearn called me again, thanked me for my job, and said: ‘You know what, why don’t we actually do a Premier League for darts.’ The rest is history. That should really be a movie.
An Emotional Farewell to Phil Taylor
SPORT1: If your life were to be filmed, a moment in January 2018 should not be missing. You brought Phil Taylor onto a World Championship stage for the very last time.
McDonald: It was breathtaking. I mean, I made him cry! He really said to me: ‘John, you made me cry.’ And that what I had done for him was outstanding. I just replied: ‘It’s okay, you deserve it.’ He is the greatest player there will ever be.
SPORT1: Will Luke Littler ever get there?
McDonald: No, he still has a long way to go; These are the early days of his career. When I came to the PDC 20 years ago, people told me: ‘We’re curious to see who Phil will play in the final.’ Not a single dart had been thrown yet. Everyone was so sure that Phil would win the tournament. That’s for comparison – and yet Luke is one of the most remarkable people I have ever met in my life. And I say that as someone who has been active in the sports business since 1982.
SPORT1: What makes him so special?
McDonald: He has an almost incredible belief in himself; it’s almost frightening. I met him when he was eleven years old. Back then, Gary Plummer, who is now his personal manager, already told me what a talent he was. Then, two years ago, there was the JDC World Championship final (for under-16s; Editor’s note ) here at Ally Pally – on a lunchtime in an empty hall. I sat exactly in this spot backstage. Then I went out, brought him onto the stage, he won 5:3. Afterwards, I went to him and said: ‘Luke, congratulations. You’ll only turn 16 in January. One day you’ll play here on the big stage and the Ally Pally will be full of people.’ He just replied: ‘Yes, exactly. On Wednesday.’ So I asked myself: Can he win a match on his debut? In the end, he reached the final. And wins the World Championship the following year. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”
SPORT1: How have you – besides Luke Littler – perceived and gotten to know the various players on tour over two decades?
McDonald: In very different ways. Some players ask you for a morning walk together, with some I have lunch. Some players also ask me for advice. They come to me because of financial problems or even marital problems: We share that. We share the disaster and the glory.
From Ally Pally to a New Chapter in Life
SPORT1: Topic: walking. You know what I’m getting at…
McDonald: Of course. Every morning I walk from the player hotel to Ally Pally. That’s 1 ¾ hours, over eight kilometers. But that’s my decision. Wherever I am in the world, whether here, in Germany, or the Netherlands: I walk. During this time, I clear my head. But of course, it’s also tough: During the World Championship, I leave the hotel at 8:30 AM – and return at midnight. That’s exhausting, even for me.
SPORT1: You still have three days ahead of you. What comes next, actually?
McDonald: There will be no more TV stuff from me! I still have a few commitments in Iceland and the Philippines, I’m doing another exhibition with the military, and then I’ll spend a lot of time with my wife, children, and grandchildren. I owe some people a bit of time. So, I’ll be busy for the first few years. And I have a motorhome that I love to travel around with and see places. I’m very blessed; I’ve been almost everywhere, it feels like – but never to Croatia. I want to go there with my wife…