Darts star Ross Smith has an unusual method when dealing with a loss of form that revolves around looking for HGV driving jobs. The 37-year-old certainly won’t be browsing for lorry shifts anytime soon after winning his seventh career Players Championship title last month.
‘Smudger’ comprehensively defeated Chris Dobey 8-2 in the final, but it was his oche heroics in the run-up to the match that demonstrated the sheer confidence Smith was playing with. Amid a stunning 24 consecutive legs won en route to lifting his eighth PDC ranking title, the Dover thrower hit a remarkable two nine-darters in the same day.
He first hit the perfect leg in his opening round clash against Dylan Slevin, which he won 6-3. After defeating Steve Lennon and Pero Ljubic, he met Chris Landman in the fourth round and struck again with the second nine-darter, with the Dutchman being the last player to win a leg against Smith for the remainder of his run that day.
Smith won an astonishing 45 of the 55 legs he played, marking a dominant winning rate of 81.8 per cent. Despite his level of performance, a first-round exit at the World Championship before his second-round World Masters elimination left the darts ace low on confidence.
The early knockouts saw Smith – who operated lorries for years before becoming a full-time professional player – look up HGV jobs. He revealed: « At the start of this year, the first couple of Players Championships and stuff like that, I thought I was rubbish to be fair. I was a bit nervy trying to get off to a good start and probably put too much pressure on myself.
« I’m a bit like that if I’m honest with you. I start looking up HGV jobs. I genuinely do. I’m absolutely mental with certain things. » He added that his improvements at the oche have come from daily swims, which have helped him recover mentally. He explained: « I’ve been swimming in the sea every day. I’ve been going into the sauna and then straight into the sea.
« I’m just enjoying the basic things in life now. I’ve probably turned into a bit of a hippie. Life’s short. Enjoy it. Be grateful. I’m grateful to be here and grateful for the opportunity of darts. I’m just happy in life. »
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