SMITH STORMS TO PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP FIVE TITLE

ROSS SMITH admitted he had been feeling “nervy” in recent weeks before blowing the field away to win Players Championship Five.

‘Smudger’ picked up his SEVENTH ProTour title and the £15,000 top prize in Leicester after thrashing Chris Dobey 8-2 in the final.

World No. 15 Smith averaged an impressive 97.42 as he overcame Dave Chisnall 6–3 in the quarter-finals and then defeated Karel Sedlacek 7–4 in the last four. 

Smith revealed he was pleased with both his performance and his progress this season. 

He said: “I wouldn’t say I feel unstoppable. I would say I played consistently today. When you win a title you definitely need a little bit of luck along the way unless you are playing exceptional. 

“Chris, thankfully today for me, he didn’t turn up. We all know how good he is. He is one of the best in the world so I am glad to beat him. I am happy. 

“I felt really relaxed today. It has taken a good couple of weeks to settle back in. 

“It’s the best I have felt this year. I always set myself a target. Since I won my first title, I’ve gone every year now knowing you need to win a title, so I am on course in 2026. It’s all good.” 

The Dover thrower was shockingly dumped out in the opening round of the World Championship by Andreas Harryson in December. 

Smith delivered a brutally honest assessment of his rocky start to the campaign before warning the rest of the field that he is now firing on all cylinders. 

He added: “The first few weeks I have actually been a bit nervy and not feeling the greatest. I think you just want to get off to a good start.

“As soon as I hit my board today, I felt really relaxed and I was full steam ahead. I feel like I played really well today. 

“I’m feeling really confident, but every day is completely different. You can play an absolute blinder, have a 105 average, and lose. 

“Anyone who plays me now is going to have to play well to beat me. I am playing really well.” 

Elsewhere, Dobey produced a stunning nine-darter on his way to dispatching Ricky Evans in the last 64 at the Mattioli Arena. 

Gerwyn Price suffered a first-round exit after a 6–2 defeat to Adam Lipscombe, while Peter Wright secured his first victory of the season with a win over Oskar Lukasiak. 

Josh Rock bowed out in his opening match against James Hurdle, and Beau Greaves’ run came to an end in round two following defeat to Damon Heta. 

Image by Taylor Lanning.