Ross Smith booked his place in the Quarter-Finals of the European Championship with a 10-7 victory over Damon Heta, but the talking point afterwards was as much about a bathroom break and a stage draft as it was about the darts. Smith, who had raced into a 5-0 lead while averaging 112, spoke to the media including DartsNews.com about a match that nearly slipped away from him.
"Yeah, if you're five-nil up, yeah, definitely," Smith said when asked about the opening salvo. "You know, full credit to Damo there. He didn't give up or roll over, did he? Five-nil at the break, and I looked up and I was averaging 112. I was like, okay, just go again. Then I missed some doubles in that leg to go six-nil up. I don't know, it just went to pieces a little bit, didn't it? But the main thing is, you win, and sometimes you need to. They're the games that bring you experience and stuff like that, so it's not a negative, it's a positive. You battle through them."
Smith reflected on how quickly a commanding lead can evaporate, drawing on his own experiences. "Well, again, going into what I just said in a way, it's like it's only experience, because I've played in games where I've been five-nil up or four-nil up and I've lost them. You know, I've only needed one leg. So, you know, it's all about experience and learning, and you take that into games like that. So, yeah, that's what it's all about, and, yeah, I'm just glad to get the win, and that experience has helped me."
After others had produced big numbers, Smith's average settled close to 96, and he admitted it put a smile on his "miserable face" to play as well as he did against Heta. "Yeah, yeah, definitely. You know, I've had a great year — sorry, I've had a great year up to now. But, yeah, to be fair, it's irrelevant what you've sort of done, isn't it? It's about now and going forward. But, no, it's weird. I felt really nervous coming into this. I felt a bit nervous last week in Maastricht as well. I don't know why. Sometimes these things, again, like I said the other day, you know, we're human at the end of the day. We have good days, bad days, whatever job you do. But today's the best I've felt in a long time — well, I'll say a long time, two weeks. It's the best I've felt. I felt like my old self again today and, you know, try and put a smile on my miserable face and enjoy it."
Then came the question about what players do during the break — and Smith did not hold back. "I went for a wee. All right, I went for a wee. Just to let everyone know, I did wash my hands. I'm not a dirtbag, I do wash my hands. But, no, yeah, I've come out again and I thought, I felt really good in that. Then I missed a few — a load of doubles, to be fair, to go six-nil — and Damo pinged it. That's when the little doubts can creep into your head slightly and Damo gets a bit of momentum. But, yeah, you know, it is what it is, and again, I'm happy with the win."
Smith also addressed the draft that disrupted the first session, revealing he had flagged it to Kirk and praising the PDC's response. "No, I wouldn't say you have to get back into it. I don't know, it can work for you and against you, having a break, so it just depends on the situation, your mindset, what the score is. Yeah, it's difficult. I knew it affected Damo. I'll give him a little pat, because there was a massive draft in the first session. Obviously, I was five-nil up, and I knew there was a draft. I said to Kirk about it, and, to be fair, the PDC literally squashed it ASAP, so full credit to them. But, yeah, maybe I should have just wished the draft continued, because I was five-nil up, averaging 112, and I was moaning about that wind. That little bit, yeah, it was helping me out, so..."
