Canada’s Jeff (The Silencer) Smith beaten in 2nd round of World Series of Darts

SALZBURG, Austria — Canadian Jeff (The Silencer) Smith lost 6-3 Saturday to eighth-seeded James (The Machine) Wade in the second round of the 300,000-pound ($511,760) Bwin World Series of Darts Finals.

The 44-year-old from Hampton, N.B., turned heads Friday with a remarkable 6-5 comeback victory over Fallon Sherrock, who made history last December by becoming the first woman to win a game at the PDC World Championship.

Smith won the first leg over Sherrock then lost the next five before rallying by taking the next five legs to advance.

But there were no such heroics against Wade, the 2018 World Series of Darts Finals champion. Smith won 7,500 pounds ($12,795) for his efforts.

Smith finished 123 and 111 as he shared the opening four legs, but Wade took the next three — including a 102 checkout in the sixth leg — as he pulled clear before closing out with a 97 average.

The 24-player event, which runs through Sunday at the Salzburgarena, is the PDC’s first to be staged in front of a live crowd — about 1,500 on the night — in more than six months.

With the world’s top eight players seeded through to the second round, Friday’s first-round action features 12 invited players from around the world alongside four qualifiers.

Top-seeded Dutch star Michael van Gerwen, who had won four of the previous five editions of the event since it was introduced in 2015, was upset 6-4 by Glen Durrant.

Smith won his way back onto the Professional Darts Corporation circuit in mid-January at the PDC Qualifying School in Wigan, England. Sherrock, 26, was also at Q School but failed to earn her tour card.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19 2020.

The Canadian Press