Ross Smith has joined a rare club. The Englishman captured his
tenth Pro Tour title last weekend, placing him among a select group to reach this impressive milestone. What stands out most is how long it took Smith to go from his first to his tenth title. That gap was just over five years, considerably longer than for several other big names in PDC history.
Smith won the Hungarian Darts Trophy last weekend, taking his tally to ten
Pro Tour tournament wins. Because there were more than five years between his first and tenth title, he sits only sixteenth in the historical ranking.
The fastest player to collect his first ten Pro Tour titles is
Raymond van Barneveld. The Dutchman needed just eighteen months. ‘Barney’ did it more than three times quicker than Smith. It underlines how rapidly the man from The Hague developed into one of the dominant forces on tour in his peak years.
Wessel Nijman is also among the absolute pacesetters. The young Dutchman needed only 623 days between his first and tenth Pro Tour title. That puts him second in the historical overview. Gary Anderson completes the top three. The Scot required 771 days to jump from his first to his tenth Pro Tour victory.
Taylor only sixth
A striking name in the list is Phil Taylor. If you had to pick one favorite to top this ranking, you would likely land on ‘The Power’. The Englishman dominated professional darts for years and amassed a staggering haul of titles. Yet Taylor ranks only sixth when looking at the number of days between his first and tenth Pro Tour title.
It is important to place the numbers in proper context. The Pro Tour looked completely different in its early years. Only 25 events were staged in the first three seasons. Today, roughly twice as many Pro Tour tournaments are played in a single year. Current-generation players therefore get far more opportunities to lift a title and reach such a milestone more quickly.
Michael van Gerwen ranks ninth in this historical overview
Van Gerwen just inside the top ten
Michael van Gerwen is another special case. ‘Mighty Mike’ sits only ninth in the ranking, mainly due to his peculiar Pro Tour start. There were three years between his first and second title. After that, though, it accelerated at breakneck speed. Van Gerwen became one of the most dominant players the PDC has ever seen and won fifteen titles in the 476 days that followed.
The contrast could hardly be greater. Where Van Gerwen initially had to wait years for his second Pro Tour win, the titles then arrived at an almost unrivalled pace. Even so, that long opening spell keeps him lower in this particular table.
Simon Whitlock also deserves a special mention. The Australian ranks fifth and came closest to a remarkable feat: winning his first and tenth Pro Tour title on the same day. This ranking underlines that there are several ways to make history.
For Smith, his tenth Pro Tour title is a significant milestone. Although he is not among the fastest, he has firmly established himself among the Pro Tour’s big names. His road to ten titles took longer than Van Barneveld’s, Nijman’s, and Anderson’s, but the Englishman has now added an impressive chapter to his career.