PDC referee Huw Ware has admitted he was on the verge of quitting darts several times before making history on the sport's biggest stage at Alexandra Palace. The 32-year-old Welshman became the first openly gay referee to take charge of a World Darts Championship final in early 2025, overseeing the title decider between Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen.
In an interview with Madhouse Magazine, Ware reflected on his early years on the PDC circuit since 2016, wrestling with whether he felt fully accepted in the darts world. "Did I consider walking away? Yes, a few times," he said. "How I overcame it, I think ultimately I looked in the mirror and said, what do you want to do? Do you want to carry on in darts or not? I found I wanted to carry on in darts."
Ware noted that the media attention after the World Championship final lasted ten days, but stated that spotlight does not make the difficult years 'worth it.' "I think that is one of the reasons why the ten days I had in the press after I did the world final didn't make those years worth it, because nothing is worth that. But it made me happy that I stayed around," he added.
He also recalled facing crowd trouble during a match between Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall in the last 16 of a European Tour event. "The worst one I ever had was, I think, between Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall. It was during the last 16 and again it was on the European Tour. Something happened, I don't know what. Funnily enough, I said something over the microphone. Then somebody else started and somebody else did. All of a sudden it was like the whole crowd were whistling. So I said something to bring it back," Ware explained. He stepped in to restore order, noting, "We only had a couple of legs left anyway. But I think it sort of brought the game back to some degree of order. But the game had been ruined already, there's no question about that."
