"This is the North American venue for darts right now": Jeff Smith lauds electric crowd after dumping out Wright in New York
PDCJeff Smith dumped out Peter Wright on the opening night of the US Darts Masters as the experienced Tour Card holder sealed a 6-2 win.
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Wright sported an entire change of grip as well as a new set of darts and was punished to the hilt by Smith who took out 108 to move towards the brink before defying an 11-darter to move through.
"I've had some great games with Peter (Wright) over my whole career. I don't think I've ever gone past a 6-5 so I'll take that win, a grain of salt and I'm happy to carry on," said Smith to Online Darts.
"This is the North American venue for darts right now, the crowd is electric. The people are coming in and I think it's going to get bigger and better every year."
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It is a newer line-up this year with some unheralded talent but for Smith, it isn't anybody new.
"It's names you guys haven't seen before but it's names I've played through and through. It's just great seeing these new guys getting the opportunities and coming through. If that isn't a marker for the rest of the players out there to say I can do this than nothing is."
"What the CDC is doing for North American darts, it doesn't get much better. It's given a level playing field on the best of conditions that we don't get to do ordinarily time in time out. The sky is the limit and hopefully they continue on."
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Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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