‘I can’t wait’ – Legendary darts MC reveals emotional chat with grandson sparked retirement decision

John McDonald knows he is ‘not getting any younger’, which is why this World Darts Championship will be his last.

McDonald, who has been the PDC’s Master of Ceremonies since 2007, and referee George Noble announced prior to the 2026 tournament they would hang up the microphone.

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Noble will referee Saturday’s final, where the winner will take home the Sid Waddell trophy and a staggering £1million, while McDonald will welcome the two finalists to the stage.

Speaking on talkSPORT Drive, live from the Alexandra Palace ahead of Friday’s semi-finals, McDonald explained how a missed opportunity to watch one of his grandson’s play football proved to be a driving factor in his decision.

McDonald explains retirement call

“I’m not getting any younger for sure,” McDonald said.

“I’ve missed so much of my own children growing up, never mind my grandchildren.

“And what really spurred me on [to retire] was I got a call from my grandson, who plays at the Chelsea Foundation.

“He said, ‘I’m playing at Southampton tomorrow, grandad, can you come and watch?’

“I was like, ‘No, I can’t, I’m up in Leicester.’ And he said to me that it’s alright because his other grandad could take him, and I felt a bit left out again.

“I thought, ‘How many times do you do this in your life when you feel so left out,’ so I thought ‘Well, I’ve had a good run, it’s time for someone else to enjoy it.’

“I thought that maybe I can go off and enjoy my eight grandchildren and my lovely wife, that’s what I’ll do and I can’t wait.”

Noble, who has been a referee for over three decades, revealed he too was prompted to walk away due to family reasons.

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Noble puts family first

“I’m not getting any younger,” Noble said.

“31 years doing it, it’s probably long enough.

“I’ve actually got some other business interests outside of what I do now, which is taking up a lot of my time.

“I’ve missed 17 out of 22 birthdays of my daughter, being away on the road working on the darts.

“I’m able to mix the other business interests with family time. It’s not all possible to do all three in the long run now, so one of them had to give.

“Professional refereeing’s been great. I’ve seen every continent, near enough every country and enjoyed my time. But now it’s time to take it easy.”

Noble will referee a combination of Luke Littler or Ryan Searle against Gary Anderson or Gian van Veen in Saturday’s final.

Littler must beat Searle to be in with a chance of becoming the first player to defend their world title in a decade, while ‘Heavy Metal’ aims to reach the World Championship final for the first time in his career.

Van Veen is also bidding to become a first-time World Championship finalist but Anderson, a two-time world champion already, hopes to add a third Sid Waddell trophy to his collection.