| Ross Smith | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Smith at the2025 European Championship | |||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Nickname | "Smudger" | ||||
| Born | (1989-01-12)12 January 1989 (age 36) Dover, Kent, England | ||||
| Home town | Deal, Kent, England | ||||
| Darts information | |||||
| Playing darts since | 2003 | ||||
| Darts | 22g Unicorn | ||||
| Laterality | Right-handed | ||||
| Walk-on music | "Red Light Spells Danger" byBilly Ocean "Sweet Child o' Mine" byGuns N' Roses | ||||
| Organisation (seesplit in darts) | |||||
| BDO | 2007–2011 | ||||
| PDC | 2005–2006, 2012–2016, 2018– (Tour Card: 2012–2016, 2018–) | ||||
| Current world ranking | (PDC) 12 (23 November 2025)[1] | ||||
| WDF major events – best performances | |||||
| World Championship | Quarter-final:2011 | ||||
| World Masters | Last 40:2011 | ||||
| PDC premier events – best performances | |||||
| World Championship | Last 32:2022,2023,2024 | ||||
| World Matchplay | Quarter-final:2024 | ||||
| World Grand Prix | Last 16:2021,2022,2023,2024 | ||||
| UK Open | Quarter-final:2019 | ||||
| Grand Slam | Last 16:2022,2024 | ||||
| European Championship | Winner (1):2022 | ||||
| PC Finals | Semi-final:2024 | ||||
| Masters | Last 16:2023 | ||||
| World Series Finals | Quarter-final:2025 | ||||
| Other tournament wins | |||||
Players Championships (×6)
PDC Youth events
| |||||
Ross Smith (born 12 January 1989) is an English professionaldarts player who competes inProfessional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is rankedworld number twelve; he reached a peak ranking of world number nine in 2024.
Nicknamed "Smudger", Smith won his first PDC major title at the2022 European Championship, defeatingMichael Smith 11–8 in the final. He reached his second major semi-final at the2024 Players Championship Finals and has finished as runner-up in three events on thePDC European Tour. Smith has won a total of 7 PDC ranking titles in his professional career.
Smith previously competed inBritish Darts Organisation (BDO) events, and reached the quarter-finals of theBDO World Championship in2011. In2013, Smith won four titles on thePDC Development Tour, the most of any player that year.
Smith began playing inProfessional Darts Corporation events in 2005 and made his debut in the Vauxhall Spring Open, reaching the last 16. Smith then reached the final of the WDF Europe Youth Cup, losing to Dutchman Johnny Nijs. Smith had little success afterwards on the PDC circuit and switched to the BDO in 2007.
Smith reached the last 16 of the 2008 British Classic and the 2008 Czech Open. He qualified for the2009 BDO World Darts Championship by winning one of five places in the qualifiers inBridlington. He gained victories overStuart Kellet,Kevin Simm and Henny van der Ster before beating Scotland's Don Haughton to qualify. He facedScott Waites in the first round, losing 3–0. In the2011 BDO World Darts Championship, he beatTony O'Shea 3–1 in the first round andWilly van de Wiel 4–1 in the second round, before losing to eventual championMartin Adams 1–5 in the quarter finals.
It was announced at the end of the 2012 BDO World Championship that Ross would be one of many players to compete in the rivalPDC's 'Q School' the following season.[2] He earned a tour card through the qualifiersOrder of Merit. His best result of 2012 came just one week later as he reached the quarter-finals of the secondPlayers Championship and lost toJustin Pipe 6–3.[3][4]Smith qualified for three of the five new European Tour events, but lost in the first round on each occasion. He came very close to defeating world number 5Simon Whitlock in the third event, the2012 European Darts Open as he led 5–2, but went on to lose 6–5.[5]
Smith headed into 2013 ranked world number 79,[6] and reached his first semi-final on the PDC tour in April at the seventhUK Open Qualifier, where he lost 6–3 toJohn Part.[7] At theUK Open itself, he fought back from 7–4 down in the third round againstJelle Klaasen to level at 7–7, before being edged out 9–7.[8] He threw anine-dart finish in the second round of the2013 Gibraltar Darts Trophy againstAdrian Lewis, but lost 6–5; this remained the last nine-dart finish achieved on the PDC European Tour untilJune 2018.[9] Smith won four events on the PDC Challenge Tour during 2013 to top the Order of Merit which has earned him a place in theGrand Slam of Darts and the2014 World Championship and also a two-year PDC tour card which includes all of his 2014 entry fees.[10] In the Grand Slam he lost each of his three games toSimon Whitlock,Wes Newton andMark Webster to finish bottom ofGroup G.[11] He played Whitlock in the first round of the World Championship and was beaten 3–0 in sets.[12]
He began 2014 at 54th place in the rankings meaning he rose 25 positions during the previous year.[13] He lost 9–5 in the third round of theUK Open toKim Huybrechts.[14] Smith's only quarter-final showing of the year came at the 19thPlayers Championship where he lost 6–3 toGerwyn Price.[15] He missed out on qualifying for the2015 World Championship by just £500 on the Pro Tour Order of Merit.[16]
Smith saw off Kevin Thomas at theGerman Darts Championship and came from 4–1 behind againstPeter Wright in the second round to force a deciding leg in which he missed one match dart to lose 6–5.[17] 2015 proved to be a difficult year for Smith as he could only record one more last 32 finish out of the events he played in.[18] Smith explained that the birth of his child and starting a new job had left him with no time to practice.[19] He fell to 74th on the Order of Merit meaning he needed to enter 2016 Q School.[20] Smith hit a nine darter on the first day and on the final day eliminated seven players, concluding with a 5–4 victory overMick McGowan to win a new two-year tour card and stated that his goal was to get in the top 40 in the rankings.[19]
He failed to qualify for the2016 UK Open and reached the last 32 of an event for the only time this year at the fourthPlayers Championship event by beatingPeter Wright andDennis Smith, before losing 6–2Rowby-John Rodriguez.[21] He reached the main draw of theGibraltar Darts Trophy andAustrian Darts Open, but was eliminated in the first round of both.[22]After 2017, during which he took a break from playing darts, he lost his PDC Tour card.[23]
In 2018 he won his Tour card back and in 2019 he reached the world championship where he defeatedPaul Lim in the first round, but lost toDaryl Gurney in the second round. He also qualified for the UK Open in 2019 where he reached the quarter finals after defeatingDawson Murschell,Yordi Meeuwisse,Alan Norris,Steve West andJames Wade.
In the same year, he also qualified for2019 European Championship and he defeated in the first round the first seed and the current world number one,Michael van Gerwen 5–6. In the second round he lost toRicky Evans. For the first time since 2013, he also qualified for2019 Grand Slam of Darts when he was successful in PDC Qualifying Event. He was unable to win any match in his group that also contained Michael van Gerwen,Adrian Lewis andJim Williams. For the second time in a row, he also qualified for2019 Players Championship Finals, but he was eliminated in the first round, losing toBrendan Dolan.
Smith qualified for 2020 PDC World Darts Championship as the 10th highest ranked player via Pro Tour Order of Merit. However, he lost 0–3 to the debutantCiaran Teehan from Ireland. After the championship, Smith placed 48th in PDC Order of Merit, his highest year end ranking ever, and secured his Tour card for another season.He was seeded into the third round of2020 UK Open, but lost in his first match againstJamie Lewis 5–6. Even though the European Tour was cut short due toCOVID-19, he qualified for2020 European Championship, but lost in the deciding leg toMichael Smith. Smith had his best run in2020 Players Championship Finals, reaching the third round after wins overKim Huybrechts andNathan Aspinall, before losing toDamon Heta.[24]
At the end of 2020, he qualified for his third world championship in a row,2021 PDC World Darts Championship, as fourth highest ranked player from Pro Tour Order of Merit.
In October 2022, Smith reached his first televised major final, defeatingMichael Smith 11–8 to win a first major title at the2022 European Championship.[25] During the group stage of the2022 Grand Slam of Darts, Smith hit nine 180s in his victory over Michael van Gerwen, a record number for a group stage for the Grand Slam.[26] Smith's year ended with a third roundWorld Championship defeat toDirk van Duijvenbode in a sudden death leg, having missed five match darts. The match featured 31 180s, a record for a best of 7 sets match, nineteen of which from Smith which equalled the individual record for a match of this format.[27][28]
Smith won a second PDC ProTour title in March 2023 with victory atPlayers Championship 5, defeatingGary Anderson 8–6 in the final.[29] The win took him into the Order of Merit's top 16 for the first time in his career.[30] He won a second ProTour title of the year in October 2023 at Players Championship 28,[31] ensuring his position as the third-most in form player in the world over the previous 200 legs played ahead of his European Championship title defence in Germany.[32]
At the2024 European Darts Grand Prix, Smith survived ten match darts across the tournament as he reached a first European Tour final, where he lost 8–6 toGary Anderson.[33] He won a first title of the year atPC13.[34] At the2024 Players Championship Finals held in November, Smith reached his second televised ranking semi-final, after beatingScott Williams 10–3 inlegs in the quarter-finals.[35]
At the2025 PDC World Darts Championship, Smith suffered a shock exit as he was defeated 3–0 byPaolo Nebrida in the second round.[36] Smith won a sixth PDC title atPC16, winning twenty-four consecutive legs en route to lifting the title as he secured whitewash victories from the quarter-final onwards. He also became just the third player ever, after Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen, to hit two nine-dart finishes in the same day.[37] He won a second Players Championship title of the year atPC29.[38]
Smith is a supporter ofDover Athletic F.C.[39]
| Legend |
|---|
| European Championship (1–0) |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score[N 1] | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2022 | European Championship |  Michael Smith | 11–8 (l) | [25] |
BDO
| Tournament | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| BDO World Championship | 1R | DNQ | QF |
| World Masters | 3R | Prel. | 4R |
PDC
| Tournament | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDC World Championship | DNQ | 1R | DNQ | 2R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 2R | ||||
| PDC World Masters[a] | Did not qualify | 2R | 1R | 1R | ||||||||||
| UK Open | Prel. | 3R | 3R | DNQ | QF | 3R | 3R | 3R | 4R | 5R | 5R | |||
| World Matchplay | Did not qualify | 1R | DNQ | 1R | QF | 1R | ||||||||
| World Grand Prix | Did not qualify | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | ||||||||
| European Championship | Did not qualify | 2R | 1R | DNQ | W | 1R | 1R | 2R | ||||||
| Grand Slam of Darts[b] | DNQ | RR | DNQ | RR | DNQ | 2R | DNQ | 2R | DNQ | |||||
| Players Championship Finals | Did not qualify | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 2R | SF | 2R | |||||
| Non-ranked televised events | ||||||||||||||
| World Series of Darts Finals | Not held | 1R | Did not qualify | 1R | QF | |||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||
| Year-end ranking | 92 | 54 | 51 | 62 | 48 | 41 | 33 | 17 | 17 | 21 | ||||
PDC European Tour
| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | ADO 1R | GDC DNQ | EDO 1R | GDM DNQ | DDM 1R | |||||||||
| 2013 | UKM 1R | EDT 2R | EDO DNQ | ADO 3R | GDT 2R | GDC DNQ | GDM 1R | DDM 2R | ||||||
| 2014 | DNQ | GDM 1R | Did not qualify | EDT 2R | ||||||||||
| 2015 | GDC 2R | Did not qualify | ||||||||||||
| 2016 | DNQ | GDT 1R | EDM DNQ | ADO 1R | Did not qualify | |||||||||
| 2018 | Did not qualify | GDT 2R | DDO DNP | EDM DNQ | GDC 1R | DDC 3R | IDO 2R | EDT DNQ | ||||||
| 2019 | EDO 3R | GDC DNQ | GDG 3R | GDO DNQ | ADO 1R | EDG 2R | DDM 1R | DNQ | ADC 1R | EDM 1R | DNQ | |||
| 2020 | Did not qualify | IDO QF | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | HDT 2R | GDT DNQ | ||||||||||||
| 2022 | Did not qualify | ADO 2R | EDO DNQ | CDO QF | EDG DNQ | DDC 2R | DNQ | GDO QF | BDO 2R | GDT DNQ | ||||
| 2023 | BSD DNQ | EDO 3R | IDO 2R | GDG 2R | ADO DNQ | DDC 2R | BDO 1R | CDO 2R | EDG SF | EDM 2R | GDO 2R | HDT 2R | GDC 3R | |
| 2024 | BDO 2R | GDG 3R | IDO QF | EDG F | ADO SF | BSD 3R | DDC 2R | EDO F | GDC 2R | FDT 3R | HDT SF | SDT 3R | CDO 2R | |
| 2025 | BDO SF | EDT QF | IDO 3R | GDG QF | ADO F | EDG 3R | DDC 3R | EDO 2R | BSD 3R | FDT 2R | CDO 3R | HDT 2R | SDT WD | GDC 2R |
PDC Players Championships
| Performance Table Legend | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Won the tournament | F | Finalist | SF | Semifinalist | QF | Quarterfinalist | #R RR Prel. | Lost in # round Round-robin Preliminary round | DQ | Disqualified |
| DNQ | Did not qualify | DNP | Did not participate | WD | Withdrew | NH | Tournament not held | NYF | Not yet founded | ||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)Top 20PDC darts players inOrder of Merit | |
|---|---|
Rankings as of 23 November 2025 with movement in rank since 16 November 2025 indicated. |
