Ross Smith has become the first player to qualify for the quarter-finals at the World Matchplay. 'Smudger' won 11-9 over Gerwyn Price on Tuesday night at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.
The two players made it a true breakfest. No fewer than eleven of the twenty legs played went against the darts. In the end it was Smith who kept his composure.
Smith missed five chances at the double in the opening leg before Price took the first leg via double 20. He then doubled his lead with a 16-darter. Smith then pinned 58 and 78 to make up the deficit, before producing a 12-darter to hold and take a 3-2 lead.
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After the break, Price hit 114 for the equalizer before as many as seven breaks in a row. That sequence came to an end in the 14th leg after Price hit the double 5 for an 8-6 lead. However, Smith then returned to 8-8 with a 13-darter and a 12-darter. He threw an 11-darter in succession there to take a 9-8 lead. Price then evened the score again with a 15-darter.
Smith then put himself on match point by taking a 10-9 lead with a 17-darter. Price then had one chance to force an tie-break, but he missed a second dart on tops for a 100 finish. Smith then pulled out the victory with a 13-darter.
It is the first time for Smith to be in the last eight at the World Matchplay. In his two previous participations in Blackpool (2021 and 2023), he was eliminated in the first round. It is also only his third quarterfinal at a major. His first was a quarterfinal at the 2019 UK Open, while Smith surprisingly won the European Championship in 2022.
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