Ross Smith insists his agonising defeat at the Cazoo World Darts Championship has given him the hunger to ‘come back stronger’ in 2023.
The 33-year-old was beaten by Dirk van Duijvenbode in a sudden-death epic at Alexandra Palace in December, after squandering five match darts for a place in the last 16.
Smith and Van Duijvenbode fired in a record-breaking 31 maximums between them, with Smith’s tally of 19 equalling the record for the most 180s hit by an individual in a best of seven sets match.
However, having surrendered a 3-0 lead against Van Duijvenbode at the same stage of the 2021/22 showpiece, the European Champion suffered further heartbreak at the hands of the Dutchman.
“I was absolutely gutted. There were no other words to describe it – I was devastated,” said Smith, who was bidding to reach the last 16 at Ally Pally for the first time in his career.
“I couldn’t care less about the 180s to be honest, it’s about winning the game.
“I wanted to win and missing three darts at tops for the match – I was gutted, but the weird thing is I know I can play a lot better.”
Smith enjoyed a breakthrough 2022 season, celebrating his maiden televised title win in October’s European Championship in Dortmund.
The Kent ace defeated four TV title winners en route to glory, overcoming Joe Cullen, Dimitri Van den Bergh, Peter Wright, Chris Dobey and Michael Smith to triumph in Germany.
Smith reaffirmed his credentials with a group stage victory over Michael van Gerwen in November’s Grand Slam of Darts, and he’s now on the verge of breaking into the world’s top 16 for the first time.
“I do look back with pride,” conceded Smith, who posted a ton-plus average in his opening round win over Darius Labanauskas at Ally Pally.
“I am really proud of what I’ve achieved, especially with winning a TV title, but I want to be in the Premier League, I want to be in the World Series.
“I want to be one of the top boys and this loss has really hurt me, but I will come back, I will be stronger, I’ll put it right on the practice board and next year will be different.
“This has made me more hungry, without a shadow of a doubt, because it hurt me.
“I can’t change the result, but I can change what happens in the future, so I will knuckle down and get on with it.”