"Show the man the respect he deserves" - Ross Smith launches impassioned defence of Peter Wright amidst ongoing criticism

Ross Smith has recovered well after his defeat on the opening day of the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts. 'Smudger' was a strong 5-2 winner over Dave Chisnall in his second group match and now takes on Connor Scutt in a straight duel for a place in the knockout stage.

Despite his victory though, Smith had mixed emotions afterwards, sharing his empathy with the struggles Chisnall is going through with back pain recently. "I didn't like any minute of that to be fair. I know Chizzy is struggling but I got to do a job at the end of the day," the former European champion tells Online Darts. "To be honest, Chizzy let me in. I was nowhere near what I am, Chizzy wasn't anywhere near what he is."

The woes of Peter Wright were also on Smith's mind with 'Smudger' launching an impassioned defence of the two time champion of the world. "You can't write off guys like Peter Wright and Dave Chisnall," Smith says. "These guys are the best in the world and they're the best in the world for a reason."

This defence also carried onto Smith's social media post match. "I see a lot of negative chat on here about Peter. Just a reminder he has won 7 majors in the last 5 years (including 2 world titles) and 2 World Cups on top of that! And he’s done it all in a very entertaining way - show the man the respect he deserves," Smith wrote on his X account, even replying to fans calling for Wright to retire. "He won a Euro Tour title 2 months ago. He beat Luke Littler in the final, who averaged 107."

UK fans can use Sky Sports during the Grand Slam of Darts. As usual, the tournament begins with a group stage with eight pools of four players each. The group stage takes place from Saturday through Tuesday, with all players playing three times.

The top two players from each group will advance to the knockout phase. Starting Wednesday, Nov. 13, the knockout phase will begin with the first matches of the final sixteen. This round will be completed on Thursday, Nov. 14. The quarter-finals will be played on Friday, Nov. 15, and Saturday, Nov. 16, before the semifinals and finals are finished on Sunday, Nov. 17.