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We may be in the dog days of the American sporting calendar, but the darts are heating up across the pond.
And speaking of heating up, Ross “Smudger” Smith has found his form at the right moment.
The World No. 12 scored a huge victory over Gerwyn “The Iceman” Price in the Round of 16 at the World Matchplay (one of the three legs of the Darts Triple Crown) on Tuesday to earn himself a trip to the quarterfinals for the first time in his career.
It’s not the biggest single result of Smith’s career — he won the European Championship in 2022 — but it’s not that far behind.
What’s more is that Smith is the clear favorite in Thursday’s quarterfinal vs. James “The Machine” Wade at the iconic Winter Gardens in Blackpool, England.
While Smith’s best days on the toe line are ahead of him, Wade is one of the more experienced members of the PDC Tour.
The 41-year-old has won 11 major titles on the circuit-— including the 2007 World Matchplay — but it’s been a little while since “The Machine” was contending for trophies.
It does seem as if Wade, who is known as one of the best closers in the sport, may be rounding into form at the right time.
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Wade was clinical in wins over Danny Noppert and defending-champion Nathan Aspinall in the early rounds and his form in smaller events has started to head in the right direction too.
This looks like a decent sell-high on Smith after an impressive but hard-to-duplicate performance.
THE PLAY: James Wade (+150, FanDuel)