Smith silences a partisan Dortmund crowd
Ross Smith won the European Championship for a second time on Sunday night, beating home favourite Martin Schindler 11-8 in the final in Dortmund. The title is worth £150,000.
Smith led early and strung together six straight legs to open a gap. Schindler, backed loudly by a German crowd, clawed his way back to 9-7. Smith then took the last three legs to close it out. “Absolutely over the moon and drained, but I’m buzzing!” he said.
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How both finalists got there
Smith beat Luke Woodhouse 10-6 in the quarter-finals, then came from 4-1 down to beat Gerwyn Price 11-7 in the semi-finals. Schindler’s path was just as direct. He beat Jonny Clayton 10-1 and Krzysztof Ratajski 11-6 to become the first German to reach a televised final.
The win makes Smith only the fifth player with multiple European Championship titles, joining Michael van Gerwen, Phil Taylor, Rob Cross and Peter Wright. His first came in 2022.
Littler still waits
World number one Luke Littler was knocked out in the quarter-finals by Ratajski, so he still has no European Championship to his name. Smith’s title follows his World Series of Darts win in September and lifts him to world number six.
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