Jeff Smith reclaimed his PDC Tour Card at the turn of the year and was a player who was achieving good results while being over here for extended periods so for him, it was a surprise that the Coronavirus lockdown has lasted as long as it has.
"I figured this'll phase over in about a month or so and I'll be back to work and it's not the case," said Smith to Winmau Darts.
"It's really disappointing. I lost my shop in August and hit the board hard and came to Q-School prepared and had a great start. I should be catching a flight to Germany to play my first Euro Tour and I am catching one home and that's it."
PDC Home Tour
'The Silencer' is through to the next phase of the PDC Home Tour and said that it is something different for players who have never played the format before.
"A lot of people haven't played webcam darts before and it's a totally different experience. I've played probably seven or eight years ago so a little bit used to it but the format is so cut throat with the plus and minus. You can play great and not make it through."
Potential for multiple events and busy end to calendar?
In his first Players Championship event, Smith reached the final as he showed his prowess and said that being in a position to base himself over in the UK for extended periods of time if multiple events are played at once could benefit him more than most.
"I was looking to play one game at a time. I was lucky to sneak by Dave (Chisnall) and it started a bit of momentum for the rest of the day. No shame in losing to Gary (Anderson) in a final."
"I've been hitting a month stretch since I've gone over since Q-School and if anybody is going to benefit it's going to be me. It's those working full time in the UK who need those jobs in order to participate in the tour that it's going to hurt."
US Darts Masters postponement
Finally for Smith, he is hoping to also put himself in the position to qualify for the US Darts Masters when it takes place again next year. This time around, they put the qualifier dates to clash with PDC events and so he hopes it is looked into for 2021.
"That was a huge thing for me because I've made the last two finals. To have those dates conflict with PDC events, that pretty much eliminated one of the top players from North America from the opportunity to qualify, hopefully they look at the schedule a bit better this time."
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