HTSPORTSNEWS

Ethan Phillips has been selected for the second time to represent the Crawshay’s in Northern Ireland

Cardiff RFC’s Ethan Phillips has been selected for the invitational rugby side, Crawshay’s RFC as they embark on a one off tour to Northern Ireland to face an Ulster development XV at Cooke RFC.

Over 20 clubs will be represented from Universities to Boys School and famous Welsh Rugby teams. Matthew Jacob’s of Aberystwyth RFC will captain the side on Friday evening.

Phillips said: “I’m really excited to get out and tour again with the Crawshays, as having already done it once before I am aware of the huge amounts of tradition, history and respect the club has.

“Its purpose is to showcase some young players with big potential and is always a great team to be a part of both on and off the field,” he added.

The Usk product who made his permanent move to The Blue and Blacks after completing a University degree at Cardiff University, said: “I’ve been fortunate to play with some great players in my career and in some exciting venues and this is just another one of those opportunities.

“I’m taking it with both hands.

“It probably won’t be as nervous as my last outing for Cardiff RFC, where I gained my club cap and playing on Pontypool park which has some sentimental value not only to my family but to the rugby world in general, Max Boyce doesn’t just sing songs about random front rows,” he added.

The Blue and Blacks second rower last made an appearance for the Crawshay’s when they played Cornwall Counties back in April of 2022, where the Welsh side ran out 31-24 victors.

When talking on how he found out he had been selected, the 23-year-old said: “ I found out through the Director of Rugby Dai Rees who contacted both me and Cardiff RFC and because we had no games scheduled this weekend I was fortunate for them to allow me to experience this great touring team that is still going strong in the professional era,” he stated.

“I had hoped to be selected as like I said I’ve toured previously and knew the tour was coming up and as long as I was made available to play by Cardiff RFC I was going on that plane,” he insisted.

The Crawshay’s will travel to Belfast this Friday and will play an Ulster Development side, on their opponents, Phillips said: “They have some great well drilled players, as we see in the National team Ireland are doing some great things.

“With a huge amount of home grown potential at the front of it, I imagine that pans down to the club game.

“With an overall structure that feeds from school level to club level to international level I foresee a style of running rugby that the Crawshays will try to emulate themselves as that’s equally the style we want to play in,” he concluded.

Words By Harry Tovey

Ryan Pocock forced to withdraw from Super-Middleweight Welsh Title fight after suffering a perforated eardrum

The highly anticipated main event bout between Ryan Pocock (5-1) and Ethan George (5-1), has been postponed due to the man from Newport suffering a perforated eardrum in a sparring session, ruling him out of action for the vacant Welsh Area Title. The fight was scheduled to take place on March 2nd at the Vale Sports Arena, Cardiff.

After beating Allan White last time out in November last year, 34-year-old Pocock was set to return to the Vale Sports Arena for his seventh fight of his professional career where he would aim to claim his first professional title, Pocock said: “To be fair I’m absolutely devastated.

“It’s been a rough few days but I’m getting back to training and staying positive is the only option,” he added.

When talking on the injury to his ear, which occurred during a sparring session, Pocock stated: “It was in sparring, head guards on, big gloves, it wasn’t a powerful punch.

“It was just wrong place at the wrong time I guess, a complete freak accident.

“It’s the best camp that I’ve made weight and probably the most rounds of sparring I’ve ever done.

“Was it my best camp, I’m not sure, I’ve never really had a bad one if I’m being honest,” he added.

Ethan George via a Instagram post, said: “I’m still fighting next weekend, but not against Ryan and not for the belt.”

This was later confirmed by Sanigar Events who stated: “The rest of the show will go ahead as planned, with Ethan George still appearing on the show against a different opponent.

“We are hoping to get Pocock vs George rescheduled for the Summer,” they insisted.

The orthodox fighter George, has an identical record to his original opponent for March 2nd, Ryan Pocock.

His only loss on his professional record came at the hands of Bahadur Karami at the Market Hall in Abergavenny.

Quickly following his first professional loss the man from Llanelli recovered by stopping Alex Branson-Cole in the second round at the York Hall, London.

When talking about a potential new date for the title fight between the two, Pocock said: “I will be back training by Monday, I just wont be able to spar for around six weeks.

Image courtesy of Bristol Boxing Gym- image of Ryan Pocock

“I’ll just keep myself fit and ready to start my next camp.

“Yes we have already got a new date and agreed to fight on that date.

“I can’t confirm the date yet but it’s not very far away, but yes it will be for the Welsh title,” he insisted.

When the fight happens one of the two will join the history books as there has only been two other Super-Middleweight Welsh champions prior. These were, Darron Griffiths (Pontypridd) and Tobias Webb (Swansea).

Words By Harry Tovey

Cardiff suffered a 20-13 defeat to Pontypool at Pontypool Park, despite a late onslaught which resulted in Dewi Cross scoring.

Pontypool have now done the double on The Blue and Blacks as tries from Morgan Lloyd, Scott Matthew’s and on point kicking from Mathew Jarvis proved to be enough to win their first game of 2024.

However, Pooler were made to work hard for victory as two tries from Dewi Cross and the trusty boot of Harrison James made proceedings interesting.

With the conditions not being favourable for either side, both teams at times struggled to keep ball to hand throughout the encounter.

It was The Blue and Blacks who got on the scoresheet first, it came from a brilliant break from winger Dewi Cross who crossed over the whitewash for the visitors first try of the afternoon. Harrison James could not add the extras as his shot went wide of its intended target.

After not being successful on the first attempt at the posts, flyhalf Matthew Jarvis got the hosts up and running after a penalty kick.

On 32 minutes, Poolers captain Scott Matthew’s broke away from a driving maul and offloaded to scrum-half Morgan Lloyd who crossed and put the hosts in front for the first time.

Cardiff responded accordingly with Harrison James slotting over a penalty kick, which made things interesting going into the break at a very wet and cold Pontypool Park.

HT: Pontypool 10-8 Cardiff

Matthew Jarvis kept the scoreboard ticking after the 60 minute mark, with another successful penalty kick, which extended Poolers lead by five.

In the last few minutes of play, Poolers Morgan Lloyd sent a kick forward to Mathew Powell who drew The Blue and Blacks defenders, and allowed hooker Peter Lloyd to cross for Poolers second. Jarvis extended the lead further after adding the extras.

With the clock deep into injury time, winger Dewi Cross crashed over for his second of the afternoon and secured the visitors a losing bonus point after another brilliant solo effort.

This result sees Cardiff remain in fourth place on 54 points whereas Pontypool move to fifth and are now 11 points off a play off spot.

Up next for The Blue and Blacks is a trip to Rodney Parade where they will face rivals Newport RFC and will aim to bounce back from this defeat against Pontypool.

FT: Pontypool 20-13 Cardiff

Words By Harry Tovey

Morgan Allen returns to captain The Blue and Blacks as they travel to Pontypool Park this Saturday.

Cardiff RFC will aim to return to winning ways as they face Pontypool who have yet to get over the winning line in 2024.

Cardiff come into this game after winning three of their last five games against Ebbw Vale, Neath and Bridgend. On the other hand, Pooler have lost their last three games against Pontypridd, Carmarthen Quins and Aberavon.

With a good start to 2024 The Blue and Blacks sit on 53 points and are in fourth place. Whereas the hosts for Saturday’s game sit in sixth on 41 points.

Cardiff RFC last faced Pontypool back in October of last year at The Cardiff Arms Park. On that occasion Harrison James in the 78th minute brought the game back level 9-9 after a penalty kick.

However, after the restart, Amosa Nove charged down a clearance kick and scored the only try of the afternoon which sealed a 16-9 win for Pooler.

The last time The Blue and Blacks travelled to Pontypool Park was back in 2012 when Cardiff lost 32-13. The last time Cardiff won away at Pontypool was back in 2009, which saw The Blue and Blacks record a 38-10 bonus point win.

I caught up with Joe Goodchild in the lead up to the game and he gave me his thoughts ahead of the clash with Pontypool on Saturday, Goodchild said: “The mood after the game against Llandovery wasn’t great.”

“This is because the boys were disappointed and frustrated.”

“Everyone has rested and recovered well ready for a hard week of training and a big game this coming Saturday”, he added.

When talking on the head-to-head, Goodchild said: “Pontypool are a hard side to play at home never mind at Pontypool Park.”

“We are looking forward to the challenge and hopefully we can get back to winning ways.”

“I haven’t personally set myself any goals this season.”

“As I prefer to take each game as it comes and play the best I can”, he concluded.

Team News:

Steve Law makes numerous changes to his side that lost 54-26 to Llandovery last time out.

Christian Brooke returns to the starting XV to replace Freddie Barnes at tighthead. After starting on the blindside against Llandovery, Sean Moore moves back into the second row and replaces Johan Hodgendoorn.

Craig Hudd comes back into the starting XV to join brother Nathan on the flank. Tom Habberfield and Harrison James replace both Jamie Hill and Arwel Robson in the half-backs.

Dewi Cross comes in for Kodie Stone on the wing and Luke Pollock comes back into the team for the first time since The Blue and Blacks visit to the Gnoll. Joe Goodchild moves from wing to fullback as James Beal starts on the wing.

After coming off injured against Bridgend Ravens, Joey Tomlinson makes a speedy recovery and could make his return from the bench.

Cardiff RFC starting XV:

15. Joe Goodchild

14. James Beal

13. Luke Pollock

12. Arron Pinches

11. Dewi Cross

10. Harrison James

9. Tom Habberfield

1. Cam TylerGrocott

2. Alun Rees

3. Cristian Brooke

4. Sean Moore

5. Ethan Phillips

6. Craig Hudd

7. Nathan Hudd

8. Morgan Allen (C)

Replacements:

16. Joey Tomlinson

17. Eddie Drake

18. Adam Williams

19. Evan Rees

20. Ioan Pascoe

21. Joe Williams

22. Jacob Lloyd

23. Tom Hughes

Words By Harry Tovey

Wales physically outplayed as England make it back-to-back wins in the U20s Six Nations

Wales’s winless run against England continued as they were well beaten 28-7 at the Recreation Ground in Bath on Friday night.

Inside 30 minutes, Alex Willis, Archie McPharland, and Ioan Jones all crossed the whitewash as early dominance was applied in this Anglo-Welsh showdown.

Wales’s defence at times was heroic and a try from Huw Anderson reduced the hosts onslaught after the break.

However, a late score by replacement Scott Kirk secured the bonus point and total domination at the scrum proved to be enough to put aside Richard Whiffin’s side.

It was an edgy start from both sides as handling errors became apparent due to the conditions. It was the home side that had the first chance at scoring after a penalty at the scrum, flyhalf Rory Taylor kicked to the corner.

After successfully gathering at the line out, referee Aimee Barrett-Theron awarded a penalty to the visitors for obstruction in the driving maul.

Moments later, Toby Cousins kicked into space and forced the visitors to take the ball into touch.

Following the line out, the ball was spread wide through the English backline and Alex Willis crossed over in the corner for the first try of the evening.

Five minutes later, scrum-half Archie McParland sneaked his way through the Welsh defence after an offload from Craig Wright to cross for the hosts second.

Wright was involved again and nearly crossed over the whitewash for a try for himself, but some heroic defence from the visitors held the hooker up.

That didn’t stop the onslaught of pressure from England as they were knocking on the door of the Welsh try line.

On the 30 minute mark, try scorer Alex Willis showed a lot of skill as the Sale Sharks man created a huge opportunity after a brilliant kick, which set up full-back Ioan Jones who crossed in the corner.

With it seemingly being all England for the best part of 30 minutes, Wales responded accordingly with a try from Huw Anderson. Harri Wilde converted the extras which reduced the deficit to eight.

England concluded the first-half with 14 men as referee Aimee Barrett-Theron awarded Olamide Sodeke a yellow card.

HT: England 15-7 Wales

It didn’t prove to be a costly yellow card for the hosts as Wales could not capitalise with the extra man advantage. Flyhallf, Rory Taylor managed to successfully kick his first points of the evening as he kept the scoreboard ticking.

This was followed by replacement, Josh Bellamy who extended England’s lead further going into the final quarter.

England had another role of the dice as they went hunting for a bonus point. In the 73rd minute, Bath’s very own Scott Kirk powered his way through the strong Welsh defence to secure the bonus point.

Up next for Richard Whiffin’s side is a trip to Musgrave Park to face Ireland in a weeks time. Whereas England will travel to Edinburgh as they face a struggling Scotland side who have yet to pick up a win in this year’s Championship.

FT: England U20 28-7 Wales U20

England XV

15. Ioan Jones, 14. Toby Cousins, 13. Ben Redshaw, 12. Ollie Spencer, 11. Alex Wills, 10. Rory Taylor, 9. Archie McParland, 1. Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 2. Craig Wright, 3. Billy Sela, 4. Olamide Sodeke, 5. Junior Kpoku, 6. Finn Carnduff, 7. Henry Pollock, 8. Nathan Michelow

Replacements: 16. Jacob Oliver, 17. Scott Kirk, 18. James Halliwell, 19. Joe Bailey, 20. Kane James, 21. Ben Douglas, 22. Josh Bellamy, 23. George Makepeace-Cubitt

Tries: 11’ Alex Willis, 15’ Archie McParland, 30’ Ioan Jones, 74’ Scott Kirk

Conversions: 74’ Josh Bellamy

Penalties: 45’ Rory Taylor, 60’ Josh Bellamy

Yellow Cards: 34’ Olamide Sodeke

Wales XV

15. Huw Anderson, 14. Harry Rees-Weldon, 13. Louie Hennessey, 12. Harri Ackermann, 11. Walker Price, 10. Harri Wilde, 9. Ieuan Davies, 1. Freddie Chapman, 2. Harry Thomas, 3. Patrick Nelson, 4. Jonny Green, 5. Osian Thomas, 6. Lucas de la Rua, 7. Harry Beddall, 8. Morgan Morse

Replacements: 16. Ewan Wood, 17. Jordan Morris, 18. Sam Scott, 19. Nick Thomas, 20. Owen Conquer, 21. Rhodri Lewis, 22. Harri Ford, 23. Macs Page

Tries: 32’ Huw Anderson

Conversion: 33’ Harri Wilde

Referee: Aimee Barret-Theron

Attendance: 9,604

Player of the Match: Henry Pollock

Words By Harry Tovey

Welsh Darts Organisation to stage their showpiece event outside of Wales for second consecutive year

The Welsh Darts Organisation has been forced to move there historic event to England due to its traditional venue being permanently closed.

The well known WDF (World Darts Federation) event usually took place in Pontins Prestatyn in Denbighshire, however that venue has now permanently closed down after substantial financial losses.

Pontins Sand Bay, Weston-super-Mare, England, will now be the hosts of this year’s Welsh Open. The tournament itself will be played from the 28th to the 31st of August.

In its fifty one year history the tournament has never taken place outside of Wales. The tournament itself has taken place in Ebbw Vale, Caerphilly and Butlin’s Barry Island.

When in 1987 the tournament was moved to Pontins in Prestatyn where it would be the home of the tournament for 36 years.

Gwent Darts Chairman and PDC player Nick Kenny states: “Its brilliant that the Welsh Darts Organisation managed to secure a venue for 2024.

“Albeit it’s in Weston-super-Mare, contractual issues with Pontins meant it had to be played at one of their sites, and there isn’t another in Wales.

“The team have done brilliantly to arrange an alternative and for us southerners, it saves the 4 hour journey to Prestatyn”, he added.

Kenny continued and said: “Ideally we would like it to return to Wales in 2025, however I’m glad it’s on for 2024.

“With the uncertainty of the event going ahead and dates, people can now start booking, overseas players can arrange travel also.

“The site looks very good and is right on the seafront in the middle of the summer, so fingers crossed for a great weekend”, he added.

This will be the tournament’s 51st anniversary and it still remains a huge event for players across Wales, Kenny stated: “The Welsh Open is the flagship event for Welsh Darts and also the main source of income.

“For the seven Welsh Counties, this is the weekend of the Welsh Intercounty Championships for both Men and Women and the chance to take home a title.

“The income generated from the event is the main funding for the International sides which include Men’s , Women’s, Boys and Girls.

“All four team’s attend the British International Championships each year against England and Scotland”, he added.

Nick Kenny stated: “Sunday is the main event for all attending with the WDF ranked Welsh Open.

“Holding this event is crucial for Welsh Darts and not holding it would be somewhat of a disaster for the organisation”.

Last year saw both Andy Davidson and Beau Greaves both win their respective tournaments and youngsters Jack Nankervis and Paige Pauling claimed the boys and girls titles respectively.

When talking about his favourite moments at the Welsh Open, Kenny said: “I have so many memories from the Welsh Open and could write a book about my experiences, laughs, wins, losses.

“2008 as a 15 year old, I got picked for Gwent and won 5 out of my 6 intercounty matches.

“Gwent won the title for the first time in its history and I beat 2 Welsh internationals.

“That weekend I lost to Martin Atkins who was a Lakeside regular in the first game but enjoyed the experience, in the youth I drew Shaun Griffiths who was the best player in the world for many years as an under 18.

“My Favourite player, Gary Anderson won the Mens title beating Mark Webster in the Final. The whole weekend was class from start to finish.

“2011 we won the championship again with my Dad (Mike Kenny) as the team manager and most recent 2023 managing the team myself.

“Myself and Sam Cankett lost out in the final of the pairs on one occasion.

“The best I achieved in the singles was a last 32”, Kenny concluded.

When talking about why this should be a must visit tournament, Kenny insisted: “I will always attend these events, but I am unable to play due to PDC rulings and for me now playing for the county is my personal highlight.

“I would recommend to anyone who loves playing darts and watching to attend the Welsh Open if they can.”

Words By Harry Tovey

The Bet MGM Premier League heads to the German Capital as the best in the World lock horns

Berlin is the next stop on the Premier League roadshow as the Mercedes-Benz Arena plays host to Night two of the Premier League.

The opening night of the 2024 Premier League saw Michael Smith go into pole position, as he put aside home favourite Gerwyn Price in a one sided final in Cardiff.

The two will meet again in the quarter-finals of Night two in a repeat of last week’s final. Price averaged over 100 in wins over Nathan Aspinall and Rob Cross earlier in the opening night.

However, when it came to the final the man from Markham only averaged 90.8 in a 6-2 defeat to “Bully Boy”. The 2023 World Champion had to put aside both Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler before beating Price and now sits on five points.

Michael van Gerwen will play in the opening match of the evening as he takes on Englishman Nathan Aspinall. Both players will be aiming to pick up their first win of the campaign, as the two could not get over the winning line in Cardiff.

Van Gerwen, comes into Night two after making it all the way to the final of the Cazoo Darts Master before he lost 11-7 to Stephen Bunting. Whereas, Aspinall got knocked out in the semi-final by the eventual winner, Bunting.

Newly crowned World Champion, Luke Humphries will look to gather his first points as he takes on a struggling Peter Wright. It was a Premier League debut to forget for “Cool Hand Luke” as he fell short to seventeen-year-old Luke Littler in the last quarter-final in Cardiff.

Whilst Peter Wright will come into the night with a bit of confidence as he knocked-out Poland’s number one Krzysztof Ratajski at The Masters in Milton Keynes. However, when it came to the last eight “Snakebite” only averaged 83 as he was well beaten by the eventual tournament winner Stephen Bunting.

The last quarter-final of the evening will see a repeat of the 2024 World Championships semi-final as Rob Cross goes head-to-head with Luke Littler.

Last week saw “The Nuke” come within a width of a wire from a final spot against Gerwyn Price as he missed a match dart at double 15. Cross on the other hand also reached the semi-finals in Cardiff after beating Peter Wright.

Night Two – Thursday February 8th Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin

Quarter-Finals:
Nathan Aspinall v Michael van Gerwen
Michael Smith v Gerwyn Price
Luke Littler v Rob Cross
Luke Humphries v Peter Wright

Semi-Finals
Aspinall/Van Gerwen v Smith/Price
Littler/Cross v Humphries/Wright

Final

Nathan Aspinall, Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith, Gerwyn Price will play either Luke Littler, Rob Cross, Luke Humphries, Peter Wright

Words By Harry Tovey

Exclusive: Evan Lloyd states “Cardiff RFC was a big part of my development,” as he aims for his first senior cap for Wales.

In his early playing days, the Penarth born player captained Penarth U14’s where he played alongside future Cardiff regional team mate Mason Grady.

He is a product of the Cardiff Rugby academy, as Lloyd played for both Cardiff U16 and U18’s. He also played youth rugby for Penarth RFC as a back row. However, during his time in the Cardiff Rugby academy, Lloyd converted from the back row to hooker.

Evan said: “The pathway development made the transition from school boy rugby to senior rugby a lot easier teaching me all the key skills I would need to be successful”, he said.

He has played for Indigo Premiership sides Pontypridd and of course Cardiff RFC where he made his last appearance for The Blue and Blacks against RGC 1404 at the back end of last year.

Lloyd said: “Cardiff RFC was a big part of my development.

“It gave me a lot of game time when transitioning position and also coached me through it”, he said.

Evan made his first start of the 2023/24 season when The Blue and Blacks played Bridgend Ravens at the Dunraven Brewery Field. He also made his 20th appearance for Cardiff RFC against RGC 1404.

When talking about his favourite moment for Cardiff RFC, Lloyd said: “My favourite moment in a Blue and Black shirt would be when we won the cup last season against Newport RFC in the Principality Stadium.”

Lloyd was also selected for Wales U20s Six Nations campaign in 2021 where he made two appearances, he said: “To play for my country is the biggest of achievement’s.”

He also stated: “When growing up playing rugby my idol was Toby (Taulupe) Faletau as he was my favourite No.8”, he said.

On the 16th January 2024, Evan Lloyd was named in Warren Gatland’s Six Nations squad, the 22-year-old said: “Obviously if I get the opportunity this would be my biggest achievement of my rugby career if I get a game”, he concluded.

Words By Harry Tovey

The 2024 Cazoo Darts Masters begins with the top 24 players going head-to-head

Chris Dobey will begin his title defence of the Cazoo Darts Masters as he takes on Andrew Gilding on the opening night in Milton Keynes. The winner of this will take on three-time World Champion Michael van Gerwen.

The tournament’s opening match will see Dirk van Duijvenbode go head-to-head with Ryan Searle, with the winner facing the reigning World Matchplay Champion Nathan Aspinall on Saturday evening.

Johnny Clayton and Poland’s number one Krzysztof Ratajski will make their first competitive appearance of 2024 in a stand-out tie, which sees the winner face a struggling Peter Wright.

The 2022 Masters Champion, Joe Cullen, will take on 22-year-old Josh Rock, with the winner playing Daryl Gurney on Saturday afternoon.

James Wade will play Belgium’s number one Dimitri Van den Bergh for the right to play top of the Premier League Michael Smith. On the other side of the draw, Damon Heta will play Gabriel Clemens for the right to play Rob Cross in the second round.

Clemens’s World Cup partner Martin Schindler will take on two-time runner-up Dave Chisnall, whilst former UK Open Champion Danny Noppert will await the winner for an encounter on Saturday afternoon.

Former European Champion Ross Smith will also take to the Milton Keynes stage as he takes on fan favourite Stephen Bunting. The winner will go toe-to-toe with the newly crowned World Champion, Luke Humphries.

Schedule of Play
Friday February 2
First Round:
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Ryan Searle
Jonny Clayton v Krzysztof Ratajski
Dave Chisnall v Martin Schindler
Damon Heta v Gabriel Clemens
Dimitri Van den Bergh v James Wade
Chris Dobey v Andrew Gilding
Joe Cullen v Josh Rock
Stephen Bunting v Ross Smith

Saturday February 3
Afternoon Session
Second Round:
Danny Noppert v Dave Chisnall/Martin Schindler
Rob Cross v Damon Heta/Gabriel Clemens
Peter Wright v Jonny Clayton/Krzysztof Ratajski
Daryl Gurney v Joe Cullen/Josh Rock

Evening Session
Second Round:
Nathan Aspinall v Dirk van Duijvenbode/Ryan Searle
Luke Humphries v Stephen Bunting/Ross Smith
Michael van Gerwen v Chris Dobey/Andrew Gilding
Michael Smith v Dimitri Van den Bergh/James Wade

Words By Harry Tovey

Michael Smith denied home favourite Gerwyn Price from winning back-to-back Premier League nights in Cardiff as he cruised to a nightly win.

Smith’s passage to the Final was not straightforward as he went to a nervous last-leg decider with the reigning Premier League Champion Michael van Gerwen.

After battling through that, he faced Luke Littler, and with “The Nuke” missing a match dart at double 15, the 33-year-old put aside Littler after the 17-year-old averaged over 105. This set up a final against crowd favourite Gerwyn Price.

Price started the final with a clinical 80 checkout that pleased the home faithful. However, Smith responded accordingly and brought daylight between the pair as he led 3-1.

Smith then made it back-to-back ton-plus checkouts as “Bullyboy” moved closer to the finishing line.

Price stayed in the final for as long as possible as he clinched a ton finish with Smith sat on a very makeable 101 finish for the match. Smith cashed in his fifth 180 of the contest and finished proceedings with a very impressive 13-darter to round off a dominant night for the man from St Helen’s.

Elsewhere, in the opening match of the 2024 Bet MGM Premier League, Rob Cross returned to the Premier League for the first time since 2021 and knocked out two-time World Champion Peter Wright 6-3.

Price was made to work hard in his opening match against Nathan Aspinall as the Englishmen went into an early 2-0 lead.

With the home support behind “The Iceman”, he took a 124 on the bull to bring himself back into the contention. Price’s doubling proved to be a problem in this match, as the 38-year-old missed numerous opportunities to win the match.

Aspinall held his nerve and took out 68 on double four to extend the second quarter-final. However, Aspinall’s pressure didn’t last very long as Price concluded the match with a sensational Shanghai finish on the twenties.

Price then powered his way past former World Champion Rob Cross with another ton plus average to progress to the night one final.

On the other side of the draw, the teenage sensation Luke Littler started his Premier League campaign with a ton-plus average as he defeated the reigning World Champion Luke Humphries 6-2.

The crowd was definitely behind the 17-year-old as the odd whistle from members of the crowd became apparent putting off the World number one.

With the crowd’s support, Littler rallied off legs of 12,14, and 13 darts and he just missed double fifteen for a spot in the final. With whistles being an issue again, Smith checked out 60 to knock out the World Youth Champion.

In the press conference after the final, Smith stated, “ I’m really happy to win.”

“My game isn’t where I would want it to be, but winning is winning,” said Smith.

“Night 15, I think, was my last win on the tour, so to get a win after six months of hard work does feel very satisfying to get the momentum going again,” he concluded.

Words By Harry Tovey