Sensational Smith with record-breaking day to claim victory at Players Championship 16 “I know I can be one of the best in the world. Consistency is a big thing”

With two nine-dart finishes on route to a record-breaking victory in Hildesheim on Tuesday, Ross Smith celebrated one of the most dominating Players Championship victories ever witnessed.

Smith, a former European champion, broke several records to earn his sixth PDC ranking title. He also won his fifth Players Championship after winning 24 straight legs.

Along with Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen, Smith was the third player to hit nine-darters in the same Players Championship event.

The 36-year-old’s performance against Dylan Slevin in the first round was flawless, and he repeated identical feats against Chris Landman in the round of 16.

After Landman tied the match at 3-3, Smith went on an incredible run, winning the next three legs before thrashing Brendan Dolan, Luke Woodhouse, and Danny Noppert to win the title.

“I don’t actually think I played that well today, but I’m so happy with the win,” revealed Smith, who now moves up three places to world number 14.

“I’ve got the little plaques at home with the scoresheets from my Players Championship wins. They’re my little trophies, and they mean a lot to me.

“I’m going to add another one to the wall today, and it’s another incentive when I’m at home practising, because I want to win all the time; who doesn’t?

“I know I can be one of the best in the world. Consistency is a big thing, but I know I can win tournaments on a regular basis.

“If you’ve won a major title you can win anything. I honestly believe I’m going to win more, but I need to keep working hard.”

After defeating Slevin in the first round, Smith averaged 105 to defeat Steve Lennon, another Irishman, before taking out Croatia’s Pero Ljubic and Landman.

With consecutive legs of 14, 12, 13, 14, 12, and 14 darts in a blazing six-leg burst, Smith then scored a hat-trick of whitewash victories against Noppert, Woodhouse, and Dolan, averaging 104.56 to thrash Dolan 8-0 in Tuesday’s highlight match.

The Northern Irish veteran made an impression at Halle 39 to earn the £10,000 runner-up prize, even though he hadn’t advanced past the round of 32 in a ranking event since March.

After defeating fourth seed Damon Heta’s 104 average in the opening round, Dolan secured his spot with three 6-2 victories against Leon Weber, Madars Razma, and Jim Long.

There, he defeated a resurgent Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 before defeating Gabriel Clemens in the penultimate leg of his semi-final victory with a spectacular 143 checkout.

Clemens defeated top seed Dave Chisnall and Dutch great Raymond van Barneveld to go to his first ranking semi-final since November 2023, marking a pleasant return to form on home turf.

In the meantime, Woodhouse defeated players like Ricky Evans, Martin Schindler, and Joe Cullen to advance to the last four and bolster his hopes of qualifying for the Betfred World Matchplay.

During his run to the quarterfinals, Evans eliminated Scotland’s World Cup pairing of Peter Wright and Gary Anderson, and the Dutch trio of Van Duijvenbode, Noppert, and Kevin Doets completed the quarterfinal lineup.

Sensational Smith with record-breaking day to claim victory at Players Championship 16

2025 Players Championship 16

Tuesday May 13

Halle 39, Hildesheim

Last 16

Gabriel Clemens 6-2 Raymond van Barneveld

Kevin Doets 6-2 Dominik Gruellich

Brendan Dolan 6-2 Jim Long

Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-0 Darius Labanauskas

Luke Woodhouse 6-4 Martin Schindler

Ricky Evans 6-5 Gary Anderson

Ross Smith 6-3 Chris Landman

Danny Noppert 6-5 Ryan Searle

Quarter-Finals

Gabriel Clemens 6-4 Kevin Doets

Brendan Dolan 6-3 Dirk van Duijvenbode

Luke Woodhouse 6-4 Ricky Evans

Ross Smith 6-0 Danny Noppert

Semi-Finals

Brendan Dolan 7-5 Gabriel Clemens

Ross Smith 7-0 Luke Woodhouse

Final

Ross Smith 8-0 Brendan Dolan

Nine-Darters!

Ross Smith hit a nine-darter during his first round tie against Dylan Slevin.

Ross Smith hit a nine-darter during his fourth round tie against Chris Landman.