"I need respect from that wall": Jeff Smith goes John Part style after being excluded from MODUS Wall of Champions

Jeff Smith has relished his latest return to the MODUS Super Series but admitted there was one thing that caught him off guard when he walked back into the famous Modus Live Lounge in Portsmouth.

Smith won Series 11 seeing off Jimmy van Schie and returned again this week to find something that perturbed him in the style of another great Canadian darting icon John Part. In one of the most iconic interviews in PDC World Darts Championship history, Part demanded respect as he was left off the wall of champions.

“What does it mean to win this title if they are not going to respect your achievement afterwards? It sounds pretty vain now, but when you are in the middle of the match and you are looking around, there has always been every champion on the wall here previously," said Part back in 2012.

“When you were the first guy to have won it in this venue and you are not there, it is pretty conspicuous. I had to fight hard not think about it and get on with my business. It is not nice and, I deserve better. Who wouldn’t take it personally? How many double champions are there here?

“There are three two-time PDC champions in this world, and I am one of them. I should be up there with those other guys. “I don’t care whose mistake it is - it’s an insult. And if it is a mistake, maybe I have to take it on the chin. But when it comes to this tournament, no one is as good as Phil, Adrian and me because we have won it at least twice.

A feeling that 'The Silencer' now knows but he won't be silenced as he hit out at the organisation for snubbing him as he saw the other champions but not himself.

“Yeah, it's been great playing here again. I love playing at the Modus Lounge,” Smith said. “Unfortunately, I went up the stairs and I didn't see my photo up on the wall. I couldn't believe it, really. I walked up the stairs, doing my business, and looked up at all the other champions there. I don't know, maybe I was lucky to win. I don’t know, but…”

The Canadian fan favourite joked that it might be time for the fans to take matters into their own hands. “Yeah, it's time—if everyone wants to call in, complain, message the Modus Super Series—it’s time to get this guy on the wall. I've got to get on that wall somehow.”

When asked whether the missing photo acts as motivation, Smith admitted it does drive him on while also leaving him feeling slightly overlooked. “Well, yeah. There’s other champions here that I know I can beat, and have beaten over the years. And yeah, I feel a bit disrespected at the same time, just not having my picture up on the wall.”

Despite that, Smith made clear his respect for those around him. “Yeah, I appreciate that. I respect you guys 100%. I've got respect from you guys, that’s great—but I need respect from that wall.”