An emotional Ross Smith triumphs in Players Championship 29 as he defeats Josh Rock in a last-leg decider
PDCFriday, 03 October 2025 at 09:44
Ross Smith has had a difficult week, pulling out of the
Swiss Darts Trophy due to a personal matter. However, he has put that behind
him to win PC 29 against Josh Rock 8-7, winning the title with a ton+ checkout.
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Smith had some standout performances throughout the day, as
he overcame Berry van Peer (6-4), Jamai van der Herik (6-2), Lukas Wenig (6-1),
Michael van Gerwen (6-0), Ryan Meikle (6-4), and Wessel Nijman (7-3).
Rock started the day slowly but progressively improved throughout,
pinning a nine-darter en route to the final. He defeated Tavis Dudeney (6-1),
Andy Boulton (6-3), Wesley Plaisier (6-3), Dirk van Duijvenbode (6-3), Danny
Noppert (6-2), and Gary Anderson (7-4) to reach the final for the third time in
2025.
Rocky took the early advantage, breaking the Smudger throw
with a 100 checkout, and survived a miss dart on the bull from his opponent to
double his lead. Smith got his first leg on the board with a 13-dart hold of
throw, before missing double eight for a 133 checkout to level, but manages to
clean up to level.
The pair traded holds to leave the score at 3-3, before Rock
misses double 10 for a 140 checkout and a break. Smith nicked back the lead but
was once more pegged back by the World Cup winner, who took out 90 in two. The Northern
Irishman followed this up with a sublime 121 checkout on double 14 to steal what
looked like a definitive break. An eleven darter from Rocky moved him one away and had the
chance to win the match with a big fish but failed to get it started. Smudger
kept the tie alive with a clinical dart at double four, before finding the same
target to force an exhilarating last-leg decider.
With Rock leaving himself on tops, it felt like Smith had to
take out the 118 he had left himself on. Finding the treble 20 with his second
dart, he brilliantly pinned double 19 to clinch his sixth Pro Tour title, and
second of the year. It also sees him rise two places up to 12th in
the world.
| Ross Smith | VS | Josh Rock |
|---|---|---|
| 104.32 | Average (3 Darts) | 102.76 |
| 14 | 100+ Thrown | 19 |
| 10 | 140+ Thrown | 14 |
| 8 | 180 Thrown | 4 |
| 118 | Highest Checkout | 121 |
| 1 | Checkout 100+ | 2 |
| 57.1 | Checkout percentage | 50 |
| 8 / 14 | Checkout | 7 / 14 |
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Lucas MichaelDarts Journalist
Lucas Michael is a darts journalist and reporter based in Cambridge, UK, and has been part of the DartsNews team since 2025. He covers professional darts through reports, analysis, round-ups, and live coverage, with a focus on clear context and accurate reporting across the PDC calendar.
A key part of his work is liveblogging major tournaments throughout the year, providing real-time updates, match coverage, and contextual reporting across the professional circuit. He also reports regularly from events on site and has covered the PDC World Darts Championship from the venue, delivering first-hand insight throughout the tournament.
Within the newsroom, Lucas works closely with the editorial team and supports coverage alongside Chief Content Officer Samuel Gill and reporter Kieran Wood.
Lucas holds a BA (Hons) in Sports Journalism. In his work, he places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating content promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Need to see her take part in the womens tour. She'll break the inernet.medinabello08-09-2026
- If he can be bothered? He won't play darts in Germany yet he'll go over and get an award!??rick6702-09-2026
- Why is this the main story? He chose not to compete in loads of tournaments,yes he's number 1 in the world,but he does have to turn up at tournaments! Play the next world championship in Dortmund and see if he turns up!!rick6727-08-2026
- This is exactly what I mean,littler survives the 1st round,I think you'll find a lot of other players did. Can you just report on the real sport,and not just 1 person. I like Luke,but this is getting boring now,as Kevin painter once said to Taylor!! The sport is about every player,not 1 who everyone seems to have put the sport on the map.,which he hasn't,he's just got in when the money is massive. Great as he is,it seems like what's the point in anyone trying,he's going to win everything,unless it's in Germany or Australia!!!rick6726-08-2026
- I mean look, Littler's picture is first,wattimena is second and he won! Level it up. I know littler is fantastic,but the sport was here before him,and will be when he's retired. Any player in the top 64/128 can beat each other,it's not big news. Poor Jermaine,wins it,and not even the headline!!rick6726-08-2026
- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
- I'd happily pay for a site free of Van der Voort's every squeak and utterance.StraightArrowNoBull19-08-2026
- I think you miss the point. It is just a poll if you are willing to pay for an ad-free site. The content stays free.SheGotLegs16-08-2026
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