The 2021-22 World Darts Championship final will take place today in front of a rowdy Ally Pally crowd with a battle between Michael Smith of England and Peter Wright of Scotland. To see who lifts the Sid Waddell trophy tonight, read our guide to discover how to watch a Smith vs Wright live stream no matter where you are in the world.
Perhaps the biggest shock about Smith's quarter-final victory was that it was so unexpected. Yes, he was up against last year's champ Gerwyn Price, but this is far from the Bully Boy's first rodeo and he showed a calm class to take down James Wade in the semis with a comfortable 6-3 win.
The darts world went into ecstasy two years ago when the effervescent Peter Wright destroyed Michael van Gerwen at the Ally Pally to take the World Darts Championship title for the very first time.
Having turned 50 since, there's nothing slowing down Snakebite as he bids to make it two tonight. And he had to dig deep to vanquish the unseeded Callan Rydz in the quarter-final and fellow Scot Gary Anderson 6-4 yesterday.
We may just be in for another epic final in North London, and here we explain all of the places to get a World Darts Championship final live stream and watch Smith vs Wright from absolutely anywhere in the world - with lucky dart fans in Germany even getting to watch for free on Sport1 .
How to watch World Darts Championship from outside your country
Below, we take a deep dive into the viewing options from broadcasters and streamers around the world. But if you're abroad and try to live stream darts on your usual service, you're likely to find access blocked because of geo-restrictions.
If that's the case, then you'll need a VPN to get around the blockage and watch as if you were right back at home. The clever software will make your laptop, phone, tablet or streaming device think it's in a different country altogether, and are really easy to set-up and use.
How to use a VPN
Using a VPN is as easy as one-two-three...
1. Download and install a VPN - as we say, our top choice is ExpressVPN
2. Connect to the appropriate server location - open the VPN app, hit 'choose location' and select the appropriate location
3. Go to the broadcaster's stream - head to your home broadcaster's site or app and watch as if you were at home - so that's Sports1 for Germany .
UK: World Darts Championship final live stream 2021-22
How to live stream Smith vs Wright in the US
How to watch World Darts Championship final: live stream Canada
World Darts Championship final live stream: how to watch online in Australia
How to watch Smith vs Wright in the Netherlands
Tribit’s latest portable Bluetooth speaker offers a colorful way to feel the rhythm
It’s a great time to be in the market for a Bluetooth speaker . Major audiomakers like JBL are announcing new models left, right and center, with many brands taking to the floor at CES 2022 to showcase their latest and greatest offerings.
The newest portable speaker from US-based company Tribit, though, has a rather unorthodox method of catching the attention of prospective buyers – a set of 24 rhythm-sensitive LED lights.
The Tribit XSound Mega can smartly sync with the pulse of the song it's playing and match its ring of front-facing colors accordingly, offering users a novel way to better immerse themselves (and others) into the ambience of their chosen track.
Of course, this isn't anything we haven't seen before, but it's a neat trick rarely implemented in portable – and affordable – Bluetooth speakers such as this one.
Tribit’s latest model isn’t all style and no substance, mind. The XSound Mega packs some impressive performance credentials, too, like 24 hours of battery life (based on a 3.5-hour charge) and a Bluetooth connection range of up to 98 feet.
The brand says the device’s independent subwoofer driver is capable of delivering “amazing and dynamic bass that fills the room,” while its water-resistant shell can weather both indoor and outdoor showers.
You’ll also get two external USB charging ports with the XSound Mega, as well as an adjustable, detachable strap for listening on-the-go.
No mega price tag
Perhaps the best feature of Tribit’s newest speaker, though – apart from the portable light show, obviously – is its price.
The XSound Mega retails for just $109.99 (around £80 / AU$150) – which is a fair bit less than the price of its more expensive counterparts like the Sonos Roam or Bose Portable Home Speaker .
Naturally, you won’t get all of the technical bells and whistles found on those top-of-the-range speakers with Tribit’s latest model, but that $109.99 figure does make the XSound Mega a more affordable audio option to those looking for a competent, easy-to-use outdoor speaker that won’t break the bank.
It’s worth clarifying that the Tribit XSound Mega hasn’t been announced as part of CES 2022, specifically – Tribit has merely lifted the lid on its newest audio product in tandem with the start of the Vegas-based trade show.
That does, however, mean the new Bluetooth speaker is available to buy right now directly from the brand itself (for $17 less than RRP, no less).
We’ll have a more detailed run-down of the Tribit XSound Mega when we get our hands on the device in the coming weeks. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned to TechRadar for the latest on this year’s crop of exciting audio products.
Hogwarts Legacy: everything we know about the Harry Potter RPG
Hogwarts Legacy is coming later this year, when it'll give you the chance to enter the Harry Potter universe and have your very own magical adventure.
From Warner Bros. Games and Avalanche Software, the game is a long-awaited open world adventure that will allow players to wander the halls and grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as well as locations outside of the castle walls that will be familiar to fans of the books and films.
While familiar places will be in plentiful supply in this adventure, familiar faces will not. That's because Hogwarts Legacy is being billed as a completely original story set in the 1800s, taking players away from the timeline of the books and films to craft their own story.
At the moment, Hogwarts Legacy is scheduled to come out in “Holiday 2022”, so the last few months of the year. We’re beginning to see more details around the game as the release window approaches, with an uptick in social media activity , so we’re hoping a more solid release date is just around the corner. Unfortunately Time Turners aren’t an option for us here.
If you’re looking to get up to date on all the Hogwarts Legacy details that have been shared and dig into all the latest rumors, too, then keep reading for everything we know so far.
Hogwarts Legacy: cut to the chase
Hogwarts Legacy release date and platforms
A Hogwarts Legacy release date has finally been... narrowed down. It's coming to Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , PS5 , PS4 , Nintendo Switch and PC this "Holiday 2022".
When Hogwarts Legacy first leaked, Bloomberg reported that it would come to next-gen consoles in 2021. However, the start of 2021 saw an official delay to 2022, as publisher Portkey Games confirmed more time was needed to get the game in tip-top shape .
Hogwarts Legacy trailer
State of Play gameplay
In March 2022, a PlayStation State of Play dedicated to Hogwarts Legacy showed eager fans 14 minutes of gameplay on the PS5. Covering everything from character creation and combat, to classes and exploration, the gameplay is the best look at Hogwarts Legacy we've had so far.
Reveal trailer The first Hogwarts Legacy trailer was shown off at Sony's September 2020 PS5 price and release date reveal . It gave us a peek at the game's environments, with fantastical creatures, plenty of wand-action, and hints at a mysterious power that your character holds...
Hogwarts Legacy gameplay, story and setting
Hogwarts Legacy is an RPG set in an immersive, open-world. Set in the wizarding world of the 1800s, Hogwarts Legacy might sound distant from the familiarity of the books and films but fans of the Harry Potter series have been assured that the game will be "firmly rooted in the Harry Potter universe". The developer says it's aiming to "chart new territory by creating fresh ways for fans to immerse themselves in the wizarding world".
There's an original main story that runs through Hogwarts Legacy, just in case you were worried that the game would let you loose in the school with no direction.
According to a post on the PlayStation Blog , you will start at Hogwarts in your fifth year, coming to the school after surviving some kind of mysterious incident. Your character apparently has “ties to an ancient magic” which will “put you on a collision course with a goblin rebellion led by Ranrok, aided by his alliance with the Dark wizard Victor Rookwood, who both present formidable threats to the entire wizarding world.”
According to the post, Ranrok “has seen a glimmer of a magic that wizardkind tried to hide – even from themselves – and he wants that power in particular. His worldview is skewed by his hatred of wizards, which makes his alliance with Victor Rookwood particularly tenuous. Once Ranrok gets what he wants, no one will be able to stop him and the wizarding world will be doomed.”
To unearth the mysteries behind the mysterious magic and stop Ranrok’s rebellion, you will have to work with Professor Eleazar Fig.
If you don't recognize the name Professor Fig, well, that's not because you're a forgetful fan—as Hogwarts Legacy is set in the past, you won't see many familiar protagonists from the books and films. Although, there may be some ghostly apparitions that you'll know, like Nearly Headless Nick.
You probably won't be particularly concerned with the lack of familiar faces, though, as there's a whole new cast of characters for you to meet as you join Hogwarts as a new fifth year student. You'll create your own character—in a character creator that seems to allow for a fair bit of customization based what we were shown in the Hogwarts Legacy gameplay reveal.
Once you've selected your house, there'll be classes to catch up on and new friends to make. To add an extra layer to the social aspect of the story, you'll nurture those connections, with your magical new pals able to teach you abilities and act as companions on quests and adventures.
During school hours, you'll be learning and casting spells and charms, brewing potions, and attending a host of classes so you can graduate alongside your classmates.
The new spells and abilities that you learn from your professors and fellow students will be useable in combat and in puzzles through the wider game world. The range of spells that you learn will allow for choice when it comes to combat styles. Players can, for example, go in “all wands-blazing” or cast a Disillusionment charm for a more stealthy approach. “Different techniques will be required to counter enemy strengths and weaknesses that should make every encounter feel engaging.”
In your down-time, you can explore the school, from iconic locations you've seen in the films to secret passageways that contain puzzles for you to solve. There's even a few locations we've not seen in the movies, like the Hufflepuff common room.
On that note, if you're worried about which House you'll be sorted into, don't be. You'll be able to choose for yourself. The Hogwarts Legacy official website reveals that players can choose their House at the start of the game. Although we don't know how the choice will be made, or whether houses will be able to be changed later on down the line.
Another feature that ties into your late start at Hogwarts is the Room of Requirement. Here you can grow plants for ingredients, brew potions, upgrade gear and more. You even have your own House Elf to do your bidding. To top that all off, you'll have a menagerie where you can keep the various magical creatures you'll run into throughout the course of the game.
See, you're not just limited to Hogwarts in your travels; you'll be able to visit the neighboring village of Hogsmeade, as well as a smattering of other hamlets speckled throughout the countryside. These locations are populated with NPCs and side quests you can dig into at your leisure, with dynamic seasons and climates to really bring them to life.
Not only that, the surrounding area will be filled with magical beasts. Some have been corrupted and are aggressive, while others are at risk from poachers. You can choose to rescue anything you find cute and cuddly, and take care of it back at the school.
It's also shown you'll get an opportunity to get your broom skills up to scratch so you can traverse the world a lot faster than on foot, though there's been no mention of playing Quidditch so far.
A morality system has also been rumored to play a role in the game and the official FAQ certainly indicates that players will have to make decisions as they play, stating "players will also encounter missions and scenarios that will pose difficult choices and determine what they stand for."
A March gameplay reveal also touches on players going over to the dark side, with a student in Hogwarts robes appearing to use the infamous 'killing curse', so that should make for some interesting choices.
Hogwarts Legacy news and rumors
No next-gen upgrade path?
Pre-orders have started to appear for Hogwarts Legacy at retailers in the US and the UK. As reported by VGC , with these pre-orders, the game appears to cost just under $70/£70 on PS5 and Xbox Series X, while costing around $60/£60 on the last-gen PS4 and Xbox One.
However, it remains unclear if there will be any kind of paid or free upgrade path included with the game or whether or not the Xbox version of the game supports Smart Delivery .
Free or paid upgrade paths have become common in games recently as they allow players who are currently struggling to get their hands on the latest-gen consoles to buy the game for their current hardware and carry on playing, without having to buy the full game all over again, when they eventually get hold of a next-gen system.
If there is no upgrade path for Hogwarts Legacy, it’ll mean that players who opt for the PS4/Xbox One version of the game will be able to play the game on PS5/Xbox Series X thanks to backwards compatibility. They won’t, however, be able to access the next-gen version and the enhancements that likely come with the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions.
At the moment, definite plans around the price and upgrade path for Hogwarts Legacy remains unclear, with digital pre-orders yet to go live.
No microstransactions
It’s been confirmed by Avalanche Software that Hogwarts Legacy will not contain any microtransactions. This is stated explicitly in an FAQ for the game, which says “Hogwarts Legacy does not have in-game purchases or micro-transactions” but it has been re-iterated by Avalanche Software's community manager, Chandler Wood, on Twitter.
“We've seen this question coming up and want to set the record straight,” Wood said. “There are no microtransactions in Hogwarts Legacy.”
No online or co-op
As confirmed in an official FAQ for Hogwarts Legacy, the game will be an entirely single-player experience with no online or co-op modes.
Red Kite Games and Sumo Digital helping out Sumo Digital has announced that two of its studios are involved in the development of Hogwarts Legacy. In a Twitter post, Sumo Digital confirmed that Sumo Nottingham and Red Kite Games are both involved in the game and that they’re “hard at work with the teams at Warner Bros. Games and Avalanche Software on a magical new adventure under the Portkey Games label.”
Could the Dark Arts be an option? Hogwarts Legacy might decide to show the darker side of the wizarding world. In a (since deleted) tweet from Hogwarts Legacy writer DC Allen, a discussion around the game’s potential age rating opened up possibilities for the Harry Potter title to include the book series’ Dark Arts – the forbidden magic that only powerful evil wizards use.
Asked whether or not killing would be possible in the new game, the writer answered (as preserved by Comicbookom ):
“Are they not allowed to kill in 16+ games? I feel like you could fully kill bad guys in Horizon Zero Dawn, it just wasn't bloody. I don't think I can answer your question directly but in the trailer you can see there is a lot of evil occurring in the wizarding world.”
It has, of course, been confirmed that evil opponents in Hogwarts Legacy will use Dark Magic after a PlayStation Blog post from Adrian Ropp, Head of Story at Avalanche, mentioned the game would feature “dueling against a deadly dark witch" and there have been mentions of a "morality" system in the game.
Since Allen’s comment, a March 2022 gameplay reveal showed a character wearing Hogwarts robes casting 'Avada Kedavra', the infamous 'killing curse' with a voice over warning that players ought to “be careful” where they choose to explore as “it may lead you down a darker path.” So, yes, it certainly looks like exploring the Dark Arts will be an option.
Trans-inclusive character creation Hogwarts Legacy will feature a transgender-inclusive character creator, according to a report from Bloomberg .
In the report, it’s said that sources “familiar with the game’s development” have revealed that the game will allow players to customize their character’s body type, voice and gender placement for school dormitories.
The sources also say that players will be allowed to choose a masculine or feminine voice, regardless of their character’s body type, and will get to choose whether they want to be a ‘witch’ or a ‘wizard’, with the latter choice placing them in the applicable dormitory and affecting they're addressed by other characters in the game.
According to Bloomberg, this inclusivity is the result of a push by some members of the game’s development team, following controversial comments made by J. K Rowling, the creator of the series.
“As a result, some members of the Hogwarts Legacy development team have fought to make the game as inclusive as possible, pushing for the character customization and even for a transgender character to be added,” the report says. “There was resistance from management at first, the people familiar with the project said, but currently the character customization is included in the game.”
JK Rowling doesn't have much involvement, apparently According to the Bloomberg report, Rowling doesn't have much involvement in the game's creation and the game's official FAQ states while the game "is inspired by J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World", the author "is not directly involved in the creation of the game."