"I think I’ve lost about a pound — and that’s just by not looking at burgers!": Ross Smith trying to get trim like Chris Dobey for Aspinall's stag do

Ross Smith took down the in-form Niels Zonneveld earlier this afternoon at the 2026 Austrian Darts Open 6-3. He averaged over 102 and was one of the best players so far this tournament.

Albeit after losing to Gerwyn Price 8-6 in Sindelfingen, Smith admitted to DartsNews afterwards that he was fed up with losing finals and that he wants to put it right finally. Despite being a European Champion, Smith has had a lot of near misses on the tour.

"Really happy with the performance. Everyone’s always a bit nervy in those first-round matches, but I knew Niels had been playing really well lately, so I felt like I needed to make a bit of a statement against him," said Smith to DartsNews. "Thankfully, it all worked out well and I played well today."

But Smith due to the fact that he sits on the cusp of the top 16 finds himself in a bit of a predicament. Either he hopes he drops out so that he doesn't have to face Luke Littler in the second round at the World Matchplay. for instance or he has to play one of the top 16 seeds first round anyway and hope it isn't ironically him.

So while he has given it some thought, he admits that he has to just do what he can and that he can't control what happens and who he could feasibly draw.

"Not really. It’s hit or miss, isn’t it? If I go in at number 16 and win my first game, I’ve probably got Luke Littler next. But then if you qualify through the ProTour side and look at the Top 16 seeds, they’re all amazing players as well.

"To be honest, no matter which side you’re on, everyone is dangerous. I don’t really worry too much about who I’m playing. I’ve said it many times, I just concentrate on my own game because I can’t control what my opponent does. So yeah, it’s all about focusing on me."

Winning a floor title and reaching the final in Sindelfingen despite losing out, he can take great solace from a 2026 to remember but it is a bit of a strange conundrum on the side of 'Smudger' who feels his game is in a good place but isn't still fully satisfied. "2026 has been alright. It’s been a bit of a strange run really because I didn’t actually think I played that well in Sindelfingen, but that’s what happens sometimes, you grind games out.

"At the same time, you can lose matches despite playing amazingly well. But overall, I feel like my game is in a really good place at the moment. I felt like I played well there today, so now it’s about cracking on and continuing to work hard."

Smith joked about having to answer questions about Nathan Aspinall's stag do but that he is looking to lose weight like Chris Dobey in the coming weeks to go into it in the best place.

"Well, I’m trying to lose a bit of weight like Chris Dobey. I think I’ve lost about a pound — and that’s just by not looking at burgers! But no, I’m really looking forward to it. I can’t believe I’m doing an interview about Nathan Aspinall’s stag do instead of darts, Jesus Christ! But yeah, we’re all looking forward to it. We’ll have a good laugh and it should be a good trip."

But in reaching the final in Sindelfingen, he admitted he is still disappointed and that reaching multiple finals and not winning is a bone of conjecture. "Very disappointed. I wasn’t proud of it — far from it. Four finals now without getting over the line isn’t good enough. At some point, you’ve got to win one.

But it is what it is. I can’t change what’s happened. I feel like in the three finals before that, I probably could have won them as well. No disrespect to the opponents because they’d probably say the same thing. But we move on. You can’t change the past, only the future".

In terms of how he learns from that, he is very simple but also goes into more depth about the problem and what he would perhaps do better next time. "Don’t do it again! It’s pretty simple really. But yeah, you do try and learn. Like I said before, you can’t control what the other player does and sometimes it’s just not meant to be.

"It’s also a very tiring day when you make a final. It’s long and it can take a lot out of you. Maybe there are little things you can improve, like boosting your energy levels a bit more, but sometimes you can overthink it. Sometimes you’ve just got to get on with it, enjoy it and accept that it either goes for you or it doesn’t. So I’m looking forward to this weekend."