Rocket lands huge darts title after perfect flights

The Rocket was crowned the 2025 winner of Wetherspoon’s annual staff fundraising darts tournament in aid of Young Lives vs Cancer.

The eagerly contested event, with regional and area heats across the UK, saw a record number of teams participate, with more than 450 teams from Wetherspoon pubs helping to raise funds.

Between January and March, a fantastic £156,307 was generated for young people facing cancer, thanks to staff members fundraising and competing in the tournament.

The tournament was set up in 2012 to raise money for Wetherspoon’s charity partner Young Lives vs Cancer.

The money raised will be added to the £25 million which Wetherspoon has raised for the charity since the partnership’s launch in 2002.

This year’s tournament kicked off in January, with 465 teams from pubs across the UK taking part in the first round.

Fifty-seven teams progressed to the regional tournaments across 12 venues, including Grover & Allen, The John Jacques and The Last Post.

In March, the top 11 teams travelled to Trent Bridge Inn to take part in the tournament’s national final.

After several knock-out rounds, the final concluded with a tense match between eventual winner The Rocket (Putney) and the 2024 champion The Picture Playhouse.

The Rocket’s pub manager, Nikolay, said: “We are so proud, not only to have won the annual darts competition for the very first time, but also to have contributed a significant sum of money towards helping young people with cancer.