Raymond Smith's Tungsten Tyranny | Darts World Magazine

The Australian Darts Association Tour has officially launched, and Raymond Smith has already made sure nobody forgets it – mostly because he didn’t let anyone else win anything.

Over the course of three days in Queensland, Smith hoovered up all four titles on offer, leaving the rest of the 70-odd players wondering whether it was worth unpacking their darts in the first place.

The man ironically nicknamed Guru produced a relentless display of tungsten tyranny, rattling off 23 straight victories across four events like a man with a vendetta against losing. For those unfamiliar, Smith is the bloke who popped up at the 2022 PDC World Championship, quietly dismantled Jamie Hughes, Devon Petersen and Florian Hempel, and then slipped away with the same understated menace he brought to Alexandra Palace. He’s also collected nine DPA ProTour titles over the years – though after this past weekend, he might need a bigger trophy cabinet.

In the first event on Friday, the 45-year old disposed of Tim Pusey in the final 6-2 – their first of three showdowns that weekend, which by the end felt more like an awkward custody battle over the runner-up trophy. Before that, Smith had casually wiped out Mal Cuming in the semis without conceding a leg, following earlier wins over Jordan Lacey and Gordon Mathers that included averages nudging the 100 mark. The message was clear: the oche belonged to him, and everyone else was just visiting.

Saturday saw Smith double up with victories in both. He edged past Stuart Coburn and James Bailey before yet again gatecrashing Pusey’s hopes in a 6-3 finale. Somewhere in there, he threw a whitewash against Andrew Jeffrey with a silky 102.48 average – smooth stuff.

Event three offered a brief flicker of suspense when Smith found himself locked in a tense showdown with New Zealander Ben Robb (pictured above). Having dropped just six legs in five matches en route to the final, Smith suddenly looked mortal – but only just. Robb even had a match dart. Alas, it was not to be, and Smith clinched a 6-5 win, completing a hat-trick that was beginning to feel inevitable.

By Sunday, the tournament might as well have been renamed the Raymond Smith Invitational. The last event of the weekend played out to a familiar script: a couple of whitewashes (Ben Justice and Jacob Pattison), a hiccup against Robbie King where he trailed 5-3 before surviving what can only be described as a charity raffle of missed match darts, and then the usual hammering of Cuming in the semis. Pusey, ever the dutiful final boss, was again the cat who didn’t get the cream – this time suffering a 6-2 defeat.

With four titles in his pocket, Smith now sits atop the ADA Order of Merit with the sort of smugness you get from leaving the nightclub with the hottest girl. The ultimate prize on offer? A golden ticket to the 2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship, which will feature 128 players and a top prize of £1 million – not bad for a weekend’s work in Australia.

Smith will have the chance to continue his monopoly when the ADA Tour resumes in Adelaide from 1^st-3^rd August. With the Brisbane arrow-smith in this kind of form, the other players might want to start practicing for second place.

Event One
Semi-Finals

Tim Pusey 6-4 Steven Duke

Raymond Smith 6-0 Mal Cuming

Final

Raymond Smith 6-2 Tim Pusey

Event Two
Semi-Finals

Raymond Smith 6-4 James Bailey

Tim Pusey 6-4 Brandon Weening

Final

Raymond Smith 6-3 Tim Pusey

Event Three
Semi-Finals

Raymond Smith 6-1 Sam Ballinger