Dennis Smith (darts player)
Encyclopedia
Dennis Smith is an English
darts
player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation
events. He is a stalwart on the PDC circuit, having been playing on the circuit since 1994 but has yet to capture a major title to add to his collection of Open wins. Smith is known for finding the extremely hot on-stage conditions very difficult at times and has a very unusual throwing action, turning the dart into a 'flight first' position before returning it to a 'point first' position, then throwing. Smith has a unique, measured action learning his trade under the tutelage of Phil Taylor.
Smith's first major event came in the inaugural World Matchplay in 1994
, beating American
Dave Kelly in the first round but lost in the second round to Shayne Burgess
. Smith then made his PDC World Darts Championship
debut in 1995, defeating Alan Warriner
and Tom Kirby
to win group 4 and reach the quarter finals, losing to John Lowe
. Smith then suffered a first round exit in the 1995 World Matchplay
and the 1996 PDC World Darts Championship. He reached the quarter finals of the 1996 World Matchplay
, beating Eric Bristow
in the first round and then beat Lowe in round two before losing to Jamie Harvey
. He then suffered a second successive first round exit in the 1997 World Championship
.
Smith then went through a poor run of form, reaching the second round in the 1997 World Matchplay
, but suffered first round exits in the 1998 World Championship
and the 1998 World Matchplay
. His next big major run came in the 1999 PDC World Darts Championship, beating Peter Evison
and Mick Manning to reach the quarter finals, losing to Peter Manley
. Though another first round exit at the World Matchplay followed, Smith achieved his best run in the 2000 PDC World Darts Championship, beating Cliff Lazarenko
, John Part
and Lowe to reach the semi finals for the very first time, losing 5-0 to Taylor.
Smith then reached the second round of the 2000 World Matchplay
and the 2000 World Grand Prix
as well as the 2001 PDC World Darts Championship
. Smith followed up with a quarter final place in the 2001 World Matchplay
and a semi final place in the 2001 World Grand Prix
. Another second round exit in the World Championship followed though. Smith played in the very first Las Vegas Desert Classic
in 2002
, losing in the first round to Simon Whatley
. He also lost in the first round of the 2002 World Matchplay
but followed up by reaching the semi finals of the Bob Anderson
Classic and the quarter finals of the World Grand Prix as well as the 2003 World Championship
.
Smith made three quarter final showing in major tournaments in 2003, in the Desert Classic, World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix but lost in the second round of the 2004 World Championship
. Another quarter final in the Desert Classic in 2004 was followed up by a spell of poor form as Smith began battling personal problems while going through a divorce. Though he reached the quarter finals of the World Matchplay and the semi finals of the World Grand Prix in 2005, poor performances in floor events saw Smith slide down the rankings. Smith reached the second round in the 2006 PDC World Darts Championship
. It would begin a complete loss of form for Smith where poor performances including a second round exit from the 2006 UK Open forced him to qualify for major tournaments. He successfully qualified for the 2006 Las Vegas Desert Classic
, losing in the first round to Dennis Priestley
. He then suffered a first round defeat in the World Matchplay and failed to qualify for the World Grand Prix and then failed to qualify for the World Championship for the very first time.
Smith qualified once again for the Desert Classic. He was knocked out in the Quarter-Final by Part after beating Priestley and Darin Young
. He then qualified again for the Desert Classic in 2008, but lost in the first round to James Wade
.
He qualified for the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship
, winning four matches at the qualifiers in Telford
to take one of the last eight places at the Alexandra Palace. He caused a major surprise by beating number five seed Terry Jenkins
in the first round. He then defeated Kevin McDine
in the second round, coming from 3 sets to nil down to level the match at three sets all and eventually won the match 4-3. He would go out in round three, losing 4-1 to Mervyn King.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
darts
Darts
Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...
player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation
Professional Darts Corporation
The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...
events. He is a stalwart on the PDC circuit, having been playing on the circuit since 1994 but has yet to capture a major title to add to his collection of Open wins. Smith is known for finding the extremely hot on-stage conditions very difficult at times and has a very unusual throwing action, turning the dart into a 'flight first' position before returning it to a 'point first' position, then throwing. Smith has a unique, measured action learning his trade under the tutelage of Phil Taylor.
Smith's first major event came in the inaugural World Matchplay in 1994
1994 World Matchplay Darts
The 1994 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. This was the first World Matchplay tournament to be held at Winter Gardens, and was sponsored by Malaysian automaker Proton. The tournament was won by Larry Butler.-Results:Players must...
, beating American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Dave Kelly in the first round but lost in the second round to Shayne Burgess
Shayne Burgess
Shayne Burgess is an English darts player who is one of the few examples of players that has switched from the British Darts Organisation to the Professional Darts Corporation and back - he announced his intention to return to the BDO in early 2007, but remains a competitor in the PDC...
. Smith then made his PDC World Darts Championship
PDC World Darts Championship
The PDC World Darts Championship is a world championship competition for the sport of darts, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation . It was introduced following a dispute in 1994 with the British Darts Organisation, which has run its own world championship since 1978...
debut in 1995, defeating Alan Warriner
Alan Warriner-Little
Alan Warriner-Little is an English professional darts player. He currently lives in Crosby, Cumbria and plays with the nickname The Iceman...
and Tom Kirby
Tom Kirby (darts player)
Tom Kirby was an Irish darts player.Kirby was the first Irishman man to join the Professional Darts Corporation and entered its inaugural World Championship in 1994, where he won Group 7 by leg difference to reach the quarter finals, losing to eventual winner Dennis Priestley...
to win group 4 and reach the quarter finals, losing to John Lowe
John Lowe
John Lowe is an English darts player who was one of the best-known men in darts during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Lowe is one of only five players to have won the World Championship 3 times.-Biography:Lowe won the World Championship title in three different decades -...
. Smith then suffered a first round exit in the 1995 World Matchplay
1995 World Matchplay Darts
The 1995 Websters World Matchplay was the second annual World Matchplay darts tournament organised by the World Darts Council . The Winter Gardens, Blackpool played host to the event for the second year running.Seven former world champions were in the field...
and the 1996 PDC World Darts Championship. He reached the quarter finals of the 1996 World Matchplay
1996 World Matchplay Darts
The 1996 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. This was brewery Samuel Webster's second and final year as tournament sponsor...
, beating Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow MBE is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport.- Early career :...
in the first round and then beat Lowe in round two before losing to Jamie Harvey
Jamie Harvey
Jamie Harvey is a Scottish darts player who plays in the British Darts Organization . He currently resides in Barrhead. Harvey uses the nickname Bravedart for his matches - a play on the lead character from the film Braveheart...
. He then suffered a second successive first round exit in the 1997 World Championship
1997 PDC World Darts Championship
-Third Place Match:Peter Evison beat Eric Bristow 4 - 2...
.
Smith then went through a poor run of form, reaching the second round in the 1997 World Matchplay
1997 World Matchplay Darts
The 1997 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. The tournament was won by Phil Taylor.-1st Round:*Dean Allsopp v Bob Anderson 5 - 8...
, but suffered first round exits in the 1998 World Championship
1998 PDC World Darts Championship
-Third Place Match: Rod Harrington beat Keith Deller 4-1...
and the 1998 World Matchplay
1998 World Matchplay Darts
The 1998 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. The tournament ran from 27 July through 1 August 1998, and was won by Rod Harrington.-1st Round:...
. His next big major run came in the 1999 PDC World Darts Championship, beating Peter Evison
Peter Evison
Peter Evison is a darts player who has enjoyed a long career in the game. His greatest achievements were to win the 1989 Winmau World Masters and the 1996 World Matchplay. He has also come close to winning the World Championship on a number of occasions.Before appearing in a major tournament...
and Mick Manning to reach the quarter finals, losing to Peter Manley
Peter Manley
Peter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart...
. Though another first round exit at the World Matchplay followed, Smith achieved his best run in the 2000 PDC World Darts Championship, beating Cliff Lazarenko
Cliff Lazarenko
Cliff Lazarenko is an English professional darts player who competed for the British Darts Organisation and the Professional Darts Corporation...
, John Part
John Part
John Part is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple.Part is one of only five players in darts history to be a three time World Champion...
and Lowe to reach the semi finals for the very first time, losing 5-0 to Taylor.
Smith then reached the second round of the 2000 World Matchplay
2000 World Matchplay Darts
The 2000 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. This was the first World Matchplay tournament to be sponsored by UK bookmaker Stan James...
and the 2000 World Grand Prix
2000 World Grand Prix Darts
The 2000 World Grand Prix Darts was the first World Grand Prix PDC darts tournament to take place outside the UK was at The Crosbie Cedars Hotel in County Wexford, Southern Ireland.-1st Round:Winners to meet seeded players in last 16...
as well as the 2001 PDC World Darts Championship
2001 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2001 Skol World Darts Championship was held between December 28, 2000–January 3, 2001 at the Circus Tavern, Purfleet.The tournament saw a notable first as Gayl King of Canada became the first woman to appear in the men's World Championship, having been given a wild card by organisers the...
. Smith followed up with a quarter final place in the 2001 World Matchplay
2001 World Matchplay Darts
The 2001 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. This was the second World Matchplay tournament to be sponsored by UK bookmaker Stan James...
and a semi final place in the 2001 World Grand Prix
2001 World Grand Prix Darts
-Results:...
. Another second round exit in the World Championship followed though. Smith played in the very first Las Vegas Desert Classic
Las Vegas Desert Classic
The Las Vegas Desert Classic was a darts tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation and was held each year in July from 2002 until 2010...
in 2002
2002 Las Vegas Desert Classic
The 2002 Las Vegas Desert Classic was the inaugural staging of a darts tournament by the Professional Darts Corporation. It featured the top players from the PDC along with an opportunity for players from North America to qualify...
, losing in the first round to Simon Whatley
Simon Whatley
Simon Whatley is an English darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He began with a very good 2002 campaign, reaching the quarter-finals of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, beating Dennis Smith in the last 16, losing to Lee Palfreyman...
. He also lost in the first round of the 2002 World Matchplay
2002 World Matchplay Darts
The 2002 World Matchplay was a darts tournament held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. Sponsored by UK bookmaker Stan James, the tournament ran from 28 July through 3 August 2002, and was won by Phil Taylor.-1st Round:...
but followed up by reaching the semi finals of the Bob Anderson
Bob Anderson (darts player)
Robert Charles "Bob" Anderson is a former world darts champion. He was ranked as world number one for over three years in the late 1980s. Nicknamed The Limestone Cowboy, he lives in Clevedon in Somerset.-Before Darts:Anderson threw his first darts maximum at the age of just five...
Classic and the quarter finals of the World Grand Prix as well as the 2003 World Championship
2003 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2003 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the tenth World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it split from the British Darts Organisation in 1993. Ladbrokes took over sponsorship of the event from Skol.The field at the televised stages expanded for the...
.
Smith made three quarter final showing in major tournaments in 2003, in the Desert Classic, World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix but lost in the second round of the 2004 World Championship
2004 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2004 Ladbrokes.com World Championship was the 10th anniversary of the PDC version of the World Darts Championship. An extra preliminary round was introduced bringing the total players at the televised stages to 48. Ladbrokes, who sponsored the event initially for one year in 2003, decided to...
. Another quarter final in the Desert Classic in 2004 was followed up by a spell of poor form as Smith began battling personal problems while going through a divorce. Though he reached the quarter finals of the World Matchplay and the semi finals of the World Grand Prix in 2005, poor performances in floor events saw Smith slide down the rankings. Smith reached the second round in the 2006 PDC World Darts Championship
2006 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2006 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was held from 19 December 2005 to 2 January 2006 at the Circus Tavern. It was the 13th staging of the Professional Darts Corporation's version of the World Championship....
. It would begin a complete loss of form for Smith where poor performances including a second round exit from the 2006 UK Open forced him to qualify for major tournaments. He successfully qualified for the 2006 Las Vegas Desert Classic
2006 Las Vegas Desert Classic
-2006 Prize Money:*Champion £15,000*Runner-up £7,500*Semi Finalists £5,000*Quarter Finalists £3,500*Second Round Losers £2,000*First Round Losers £1,350-First Round:Wednesday 28 June 2006First to six legs-Second Round:Thursday 29 June 2006...
, losing in the first round to Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley is an English professional darts player. He has won two world championships, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively...
. He then suffered a first round defeat in the World Matchplay and failed to qualify for the World Grand Prix and then failed to qualify for the World Championship for the very first time.
Smith qualified once again for the Desert Classic. He was knocked out in the Quarter-Final by Part after beating Priestley and Darin Young
Darin Young
Darin Young is an American darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation. He uses the nickname Big Daddy....
. He then qualified again for the Desert Classic in 2008, but lost in the first round to James Wade
James Wade
James Wade is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation . He became the youngest player ever to win a major PDC title at the World Matchplay in July 2007...
.
He qualified for the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship
2009 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2009 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 16th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation....
, winning four matches at the qualifiers in Telford
Telford
Telford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
to take one of the last eight places at the Alexandra Palace. He caused a major surprise by beating number five seed Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins
Terry Jenkins is an English professional darts player who is nicknamed The Bull, having previously used the nickname "Tucker" for his matches...
in the first round. He then defeated Kevin McDine
Kevin McDine
Kevin McDine is an English darts player, currently residing in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire. He competes in Professional Darts Corporation events and SupaMc is currently ranked 37th on the PDC Order of Merit....
in the second round, coming from 3 sets to nil down to level the match at three sets all and eventually won the match 4-3. He would go out in round three, losing 4-1 to Mervyn King.
World Championship performances
- 2011 (PDC) Last 64 lost to Andy HamiltonAndy Hamilton (darts player)Andy Hamilton is a full time professional English darts player widely known for his "aggressive" style of play. He is nicknamed The Hammer and is currently ranked 12th on the PDC Order of Merit....
0-3 - 2009 (PDC) Last 16 lost to Mervyn King 1-4
- 2006 (PDC) Last 16 lost to Peter ManleyPeter ManleyPeter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart...
3-4 - 2005 (PDC) Last 32 lost to Bob AndersonBob Anderson (darts player)Robert Charles "Bob" Anderson is a former world darts champion. He was ranked as world number one for over three years in the late 1980s. Nicknamed The Limestone Cowboy, he lives in Clevedon in Somerset.-Before Darts:Anderson threw his first darts maximum at the age of just five...
2-4 - 2004 (PDC) Last 16 lost to Bob Anderson 3-4
- 2003 (PDC) Quarter Final lost to Phil Taylor 3-5
- 2002 (PDC) Last 16 to Ronnie BaxterRonnie BaxterRonnie Baxter is an English darts player. He uses the nickname The Rocket for his matches. Baxter is known for his fast, robotic throwing action...
1-6 - 2001 (PDC) Last 16 to John PartJohn PartJohn Part is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple.Part is one of only five players in darts history to be a three time World Champion...
2-3 - 2000 (PDC) Semi Final lost to Phil Taylor 0-5
- 1999 (PDC) Quarter Final lost to Peter Manley 0-4
- 1998 (PDC) Last 24 Group lost to Phil Taylor, beat Kevin SpiolekKevin SpiolekKevin Spiolek is an English darts player who played during the 1980s and 1990s. He made a brief return to form in 2006 when qualifying to play in the PDC World Darts Championship....
- 1997 (PDC) Last 24 Group lost to Keith DellerKeith DellerKeith Deller is an English darts player, who won the Embassy World Professional Darts Championship in 1983. He was the first qualifier ever to win the championship and remains one of the youngest champions in history...
, beat Kevin Spiolek - 1996 (PDC) Last 24 Group lost to John LoweJohn LoweJohn Lowe is an English darts player who was one of the best-known men in darts during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Lowe is one of only five players to have won the World Championship 3 times.-Biography:Lowe won the World Championship title in three different decades -...
& Tom KirbyTom Kirby (darts player)Tom Kirby was an Irish darts player.Kirby was the first Irishman man to join the Professional Darts Corporation and entered its inaugural World Championship in 1994, where he won Group 7 by leg difference to reach the quarter finals, losing to eventual winner Dennis Priestley... - 1995 (PDC) Quarter Final lost to John Lowe 0-4