"Maybe I should have just wished the draft continued because I was 5-0 up": Ross Smith complains about the wind at the European Championship and then sees the match turn completely on its head

Ross Smith managed to stave off the late threat of Damon Heta as he won through 10-7 to reach the Quarter-Finals of the European Championship through initial brilliance and issues with the wind too.

Smith spoke afterwards to the media including DartsNews about his opening salvo as he went 5-0 up and was averaging 112 and in his words it almost went to pieces from there.

"Yeah, if you're five-nil up, yeah, definitely," said Smith to the media including DartsNews.com.

"You know, full credit to Damo there. He didn't give up or roll over, did he? Five-nil at the break, and I looked up and I was averaging 112. I was like, okay, just go again. Then I missed some doubles in that leg to go six-nil up. I don't know, it just went to pieces a little bit, didn't it?

"But the main thing is, you win, and sometimes you need to. They're the games that bring you experience and stuff like that, so it's not a negative, it's a positive. You battle through them."

Smith went on to touch upon how it is to go so far ahead and then suddenly be hit back at and that it is very much all about the experience and learning from it. "Well, again, going into what I just said in a way, it's like it's only experience, because I've played in games where I've been five-nil up or four-nil up and I've lost them. You know, I've only needed one leg.

"So, you know, it's all about experience and learning, and you take that into games like that. So, yeah, that's what it's all about, and, yeah, I'm just glad to get the win, and that experience has helped me."

After others managed to produce big numbers, Smith hasn't managed to get into that club, but it was better with an average close to 96 and he said that it put a smile on his miserable face to play as well as he did against Heta.

"Yeah, yeah, definitely. You know, I've had a great year — sorry, I've had a great year up to now. But, yeah, to be fair, it's irrelevant what you've sort of done, isn't it? It's about now and going forward.

"But, no, it's weird. I felt really nervous coming into this. I felt a bit nervous last week in Maastricht as well. I don't know why. Sometimes these things, again, like I said the other day, you know, we're human at the end of the day. We have good days, bad days, whatever job you do.

"But today's the best I've felt in a long time — well, I'll say a long time, two weeks. It's the best I've felt. I felt like my old self again today and, you know, try and put a smile on my miserable face and enjoy it."

While averaging around 112, Smith went off stage and struggled when he returned, he spoke about what he does in that time as well as the stalling in momentum as a result.

"I went for a wee. All right, I went for a wee. Just to let everyone know, I did wash my hands. I'm not a dirtbag, I do wash my hands. But, no, yeah, I've come out again and I thought, I felt really good in that. Then I missed a few — a load of doubles, to be fair, to go six-nil — and Damo pinged it. That's when the little doubts can creep into your head slightly and Damo gets a bit of momentum. But, yeah, you know, it is what it is, and again, I'm happy with the win."

But Smith wished in a way that the draft was going to continue as he went from being helped out to faltering.

"No, I wouldn't say you have to get back into it. I don't know, it can work for you and against you, having a break, so it just depends on the situation, your mindset, what the score is. Yeah, it's difficult.

"I knew it affected Damo. I'll give him a little pat, because there was a massive draft in the first session. Obviously, I was five-nil up, and I knew there was a draft. I said to Kirk about it, and, to be fair, the PDC literally squashed it ASAP, so full credit to them.

"But, yeah, maybe I should have just wished the draft continued, because I was five-nil up, averaging 112, and I was moaning about that wind. That little bit, yeah, it was helping me out, so..."