De Sousa despite never winning on the Alexandra Palace stage of course comes into the tournament with added pressure after becoming a first time major champion in 2020 and lost the first set before recovering to win.
It was worrying early on for De Sousa as like alluded to Smith claimed the first set sweeping it 3-0 with a 108 checkout and hitting 60% on the doubles as 'The Special One' couldn't find his stride.
To begin the second set, Smith took out 136 to make it 1-1 but De Sousa responded to claim a foothold in the tie with a 3-1 sets win.
It was six out of eight legs for De Sousa as from there he took control making it 2-1 and suddenly he was one set away from the match.
Smith wasn't done as he took out 127 to break the throw of De Sousa but the latter was straight back and took out 65 to go one away.
It was finalised with Smith missing three darts to hold and send it to a decider and De Sousa returned to pin double 20 and win through.
ADVERTISEMENT
2021 PDC World Darts Championship schedule
Thursday December 17
Evening Session (18:00 GMT)
Luke Woodhouse (92.23) 2-3 (90.67) Jamie Lewis (R1) (3-0, 3-2, 1-3, 1-3, 1-3)
Ron Meulenkamp (87.71) 3-1 (89.82) Boris Krcmar (R1) (0-3, 3-0, 3-2, 3-1)
Ryan Searle (98.31) 3-2 (88.98) Danny Lauby (R1) (3-0, 2-3, 3-0, 2-3, 3-1)
Jose de Sousa (93.93) 3-1 (93.73) Ross Smith (R2) (0-3, 3-1, 3-1, 3-1)
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.