"He's got more talent in his little finger, than half the people out there, he's just lazy" - Chris Dobey looking to dethrone Michael Smith at the World Darts Championship

Chris Dobey managed to prevail at the World Darts Championship on Thursday afternoon after a cracker. In a spectacular duel, 'Hollywood' emerged victorious over his opponent Ross Smith 4-2.

Especially the beginning of the match was mouthwatering. Smith had an average of 111.55 in the first two sets, but bizarrely enough he was still 0-2 down. Dobey, hitting an average of 114.80 after two sets, looked supreme. Smith then came back to 2-2, but missed crucial doubles to give Dobey the win.

''I'm just delighted to come through such a tough, tough game against a good friend," reflected Dobey. "I felt so comfortable, as you could probably see, the first couple of sets. But then, when you start to miss one or two, it becomes a tough game. He dug in, he played well, he threw everything at me but I just kept myself focused and just happy to get that win."

With a final average of 102.36, Dobey once again managed to post an average well above 100. Earlier, he threw a monthly average of 103.09 per turn in his match win against William O'Connor (3-2). ''I've had two fantastic games,'' Dobey acknowledged. ''William is an underrated player. I think he's better than his world ranking suggests. He definitely belongs in the top-32. And obviously I know how good Ross can be, too. He won the European Championship a year ago after beating me in the semi-final, so this is a nice revenge,'' smiles the darter from Bedlington, England.

Another cracker, this time with Michael Smith, the reigning world champion, awaits Dobey in the next round. The world number seventeen goes into the duel against the world number one with great confidence.

''He'll not want to play me in that form. He's the World Champ he'll have all the pressure on his shoulders" Dobey states. Smith does evoke some annoyance from Dobey however, who is almost jealous of his 33-year-old compatriot's enormous talent. ''He's so talented. I think he's got more talent in his little finger, than half the people out there. He's just lazy, that's the top and bottom of it. As much as he'll stand and practice for hours and hours, he's just lazy. He's got one of the best throws and honestly it annoys me how good he actually is."