Rarely do tributes between political opponents extend beyond leaden platitudes. Before yesterday, the most sincere words of support I've heard between party leaders came after David Cameron's son Ivan died.

Bond aficionados will know that early in each story comes an inaugural meeting between hero and foe. A chance encounter over highballs, perhaps, or a high-stakes hand of chemin de fer.

Darts legend Raymond van Barneveld has crashed out of the 2020 Darts World Championship in the first round at the hands of Darin Young.

Fourth seed Michael Smith became the latest victim of an upset after Luke Woodhouse claimed a memorable 3-1 win at the PDC World Darts Championship.

JORDAN SEWARD AT ALEXANDRA PALACE: The Ally Pally has become synonymous with the festive period and is a Christmas ritual for many from all walks of life. It's a night out like no other.

Mother-of-one Fallon Sherrock, 25, was left speechless after she beat 22-year-old Ted Evetts 3-2 at the PDC World Championships at Alexandra Palace on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old from Milton Keynes created history on Tuesday night by becoming the first woman to beat a man at the PDC World Darts Championship when she overcame Ted Evetts.

GREAT SPORTING MOMENTS OF 2019: In the fourth in our series of the greatest moments of the sporting year, we recall those two nights when two Brits claimed World Championship gold...

Michael Van Gerwen secured a rapid victory over Ricky Evans to progress into the last 16 of the PDC World Championship.

From hairdresser to history-maker, Fallon Sherrock is through to the third round of the PDC World Darts Championship - and has her heart set on lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy.

The World Darts Championship was briefly halted on Monday night after a power cut interrupted the action at the Alexandra Palace.

Sports stars around the world are celebrating Christmas in style as they enjoy a break from their hectic training and playing schedules. Most then took to Instagram to post their pictures.

Fallon Sherrock will look to continue her pulsating World Darts Championship run at Alexandra Palace, having spent four hours of her Christmas Day practising.

Defending champion Michael Van Gerwen cruised into the quarter-finals of the PDC World Championship, as two-time winner Gary Anderson tumbled out.

Adrian Lewis crashed out of the World Championship at Alexandra Palace on Saturday night after surrendering a 3-1 lead against Belgian star Dimitri van den Bergh.

The 25-year-old's fairytale run came to an end in a 4-2 defeat to Chris Dobey in front of a raucous crowd, with Dobey forced to use earplugs in an attempt to drown out the support for Sherrock.

Labanauskas, who had taken the opener to threaten a surprise, drew blood after accidentally stabbing himself with a dart, but showed no ill effects after the brief interruption.

Gerwyn Price has slammed Peter Wright for employing dirty tactics and described his behaviour as 'out of order' following his defeat in their heated World Darts Championship semi-final.

The PDC have announced that the 2020 Premier League will feature nine 'challengers' in a move which potentially opens the door for Fallon Sherrock to feature.

Fallon Sherrock became the first woman to win a World Championship match when she beat Ted Evetts last month, and Barry And Hearn believes it has put darts back on the global map.

PETE CARLINE: Peter Wright played the match of his life to claim a first PDC World Darts title, beating nemesis Michael van Gerwen 7-3 in a major final at the eighth time of asking.

The 16-time world champion quit two years ago after losing the PDC World final to Rob Cross. But now Taylor would like to come back to the pro circuit according to PDC chairman Barry Hearn.

Fallon Sherrock has been confirmed as one of the nine 'challengers' who will feature in the 2020 Premier League. She shot to fame at the World Darts Championship.

JORDAN SEWARD: Peter Wright has been a long, hard road to the top. He finally accomplished his dream by beating van Gerwen 7-3 to win the World Darts Championship

Mark Cavendish is doing all he can to keep his Olympic dream alive as he bids to secure a spot in the final UCI track cycling World Cup event in Canada this month.

Olympic gold medallist Alex Danson has said she will make an extraordinary return to training with the Great Britain hockey team on Monday after her career was derailed by a freak concussion.

Parents of young sports men and women have been warned about predatory coaches who may use their position to take advantage of children and how to spot the warning signs.

WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT: Joel Embiid's left ring finger looked like the top of a used bendy drinking straw, grotesquely overlapping his pinkie to the point that it seemed he had his fingers crossed.

MIKE KEEGAN - SPORTS AGENDA: Given their obsession with young audiences, It should come as no surprise that the BBC's press office have apparently begun to act like Pinocchio.

An offender involved in a brutal fight during an NHL match has defended his actions after punching his opponent and throwing him to the ground during Edmonton Oilers clash with Calgary Flames.

The former F1 driver, alongside Marc Coma, was driving a Toyota Hilux over a sand dune when he lost control of the car. It flipped twice, landing back on its wheels, but the pair did complete the 10th stage.

JEFF POWELL: My long-range admiration for Courtney Lawes as a man has been cemented by his principled stand against the fake allegations that criticism of Meghan Markle is racist.

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe watched on as reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo helped Milwaukee Bucks beat Charlotte Hornets in the first-ever NBA game to held in Paris.

From April 2020, any shoe must have been available for purchase by any athlete on the open retail market for a period of four months before it can be used in competition.

This is the hilarious moment San Antonio Spurs star Jakob Poeltl forgot to put his jersey on as he walked out on to the court for their match with La Clippers.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: I'll tell you one that surprised me - it was a message from my language tutor,' says Katarina Johnson-Thompson.

Athletes have accused World Athletics of favouring Nike in the wake of their new regulations to tackle the growing controversy around racing shoes.

Great Britain set up a winner takes all encounter against old rivals Hungary in Nottingham on Sunday when they took another step on the road to the Beijing Winter Olympics by beating Estonia 7-1.

Great Britain's hopes of reaching the next Winter Olympics were dashed on Sunday when they were defeated 4-1 by their old rivals Hungary in a winner takes all clash.

Arnold, whose 46-year coaching career yielded over 70 major medals, said: 'After London 2012 and the opportunity that brought, you have to wonder how it has been allowed to get like this.'

EXCLUSIVE BY DAVID COVERDALE: Alex Partridge won silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and bronze at London 2012. The 39-year-old now tells Sportsmail about his battle with depression.

The upheaval and chaos at UK Athletics intensified on Thursday night with the surprise resignation of chairman Chris Clark.

Fallon Sherrock narrowly failed to create more history as she drew 6-6 with Glen Durrant at the Premier League in Nottingham after her PDC World Championship success in December.

The elephant in the room remains, running laps at improbable speed. It has been two weeks since Jemma Reekie came to wider attention with an astonishing performance - now she must talk.

Jemma Reekie's coach Andy Young believes the breakthrough star of British athletics packs enough of a kick to be an Olympic contender this summer after her victory in Glasgow on Saturday.

The world's fastest sailboat is set to complete its record-breaking journey around the world this week, making its arrival through the Thames. The IDEC Sport's crew are led by Francis Joyon.

Laura Lambert and Chief Sports Writer Martin Samuel are shortlisted for the Hugh McIlvanney Award for Sports Journalist of the Year.

British Cycling have been dealt a major financial blow after HSBC pulled the plug on their £20million sponsorship deal four years early.

The four-man, 4km event is one of Team GB's most successful in any Olympic sport - they won gold at Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016. Veteran Ed Clancy was the only ever-present in those teams. 

RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: New levels of bemusement were attained with this week's revelations of how he changed his story about an L-carnitine infusion to USADA investigators.