The ‘Guru’, Raymond Smith produced perfection for the first televised
9-dart leg in ADA competition at the Silver Sands Tavern, Mandurah.
It was a fitting occasion for the man who has given so much to the
darting community.
For the commentators it was a surreal moment, after the first three
darts hitting the treble 20 they just knew it was about to happen,
this was the time, here we go. A moment in time that cannot adequately
be explained nor the feeling of excitement, expectation, history and
achievement.
If the Comms team were hyped and the decibels grew, the coolest man in
the room was at the oche throwing the darts.
It may not have been the first the player has thrown on TV, but coming
against 2 time 2026 Tournament winner, Brody Klinge, it was
outstanding.
The fact it was a major Semi-Final, a 6-nil victory and against the
quality of Klinge speaks volumes.
Speaking afterwards, Smith was obviously pleased but as always,
humble. It was a leg of darts, albeit a leg of perfection, and two
more were required to progress but he never lost his rhythm, style nor
focus and completed the job in hand.
It was a first for the ADA, the venue and the DSL streaming platform
plus the first, not the last, to be shown ‘live’ on PDC TV directly
from Australia.
The standard is set, the quality of the field unprecedented, the
opportunities immense and unheralded for Australian players.
Time to get on board and ride the ADA Express to stardom and beyond………….