Australian darts player Gordon Mathers showcased a remarkable physical transformation at Alexandra Palace on Wednesday night, having shed an incredible 50kg in just six months.
The 43-year-old Brisbane-born player, making his first World Championship appearance in three years, pushed England's Ricky Evans to the limit before ultimately falling to a 3-2 defeat.
Mathers' dramatic weight loss journey, which saw him drop from 160kg to 110kg, drew significant attention from spectators.
"One of the most impressive body transformations I've ever seen from anyone by Gordon Mathers. Incredible," one fan posted on X.
Gordon Mathers showed off his incredible weight loss
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Mathers revealed his weight gain was linked to the lifestyle challenges of professional darts.
"I've always been big but when I got a tour card I stopped working and the lifestyle of a darts player isn't the best," he explained on the TungstenTales YouTube channel.
The Australian described how the irregular schedule of tournament play affected his eating habits.
"You are eating at the wrong time of the night because you have to," he said.
"There is nothing else open so it is all junk food. So I blew out really badly until I came back to Australia."
His weight had peaked at 160kg (25 stone) before his transformation began in March.
Gordon Mathers lost in the first round to Ricky Evans
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The motivation behind Mathers' transformation stemmed from a deeply personal tragedy - the loss of his father to heart failure at age 57.
His children's concerns played a crucial role in his decision to change.
"My kids were the catalyst to lose the weight because my father passed away at the age of 57 with heart failure," he said.
"So they were always into me 'you're going like big pop'."
His brother's success with weight loss surgery also inspired his journey.
"He had the weight loss surgery, and I saw him go through it," Mathers said, adding: "I'm down at the moment to 110kg, so 50 kg that I have lost in six or seven months and I would do it again tomorrow."
Despite his impressive physical transformation, Mathers is still seeking his first World Championship victory after Wednesday night's narrow defeat.
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The match proved to be a thrilling contest, with Mathers pushing Ricky Evans to the final set before succumbing 3-2.
The evening also featured another remarkable moment, as Dutch player Christian Kist achieved the tournament's first nine-darter in the preceding match against Latvia's Madars Razma.
Kist's perfect leg triggered a £180,000 Paddy Power bonus, split equally between the player, Prostate Cancer research, and a randomly selected fan in the crowd.
Like Mathers, Kist's tournament ended in defeat, as he lost 3-1 to Razma.
