The opening weekend of the Australian Darts Association Tour in Mandurah was emphatically dominated by two of Australia’s tungsten luminaries – one of whom chiselled his name into the competition’s embryonic folklore. Again.
When the inaugural series first unfurled last June, it was Raymond Smith who monopolised proceedings in his native Queensland, executing a clean sweep of all four titles with an air of serene supremacy.
This time, the Brisbane talisman did not quite annex the entire estate – he “only” departed Western Australia with two trophies – but in compensation he authored a moment of pristine perfection. A nine-dart leg. The first in the history of the ADA Tour. A sliver of darting immortality delivered with clinical splendour.
Yet before Smith’s pyrotechnics illuminated the weekend, it was Brody Kling who had commandeered the early proceedings. The Melbourne marksman tore through the opening two events with unflinching authority, carving a path to the first final by dispatching five consecutive compatriots. The sequence culminated in a meeting with James Bailey, a contest that promised resistance but instead dissolved into a whitewash. Bailey, known as The Bull, simply could not Kling-on, watching in despair as his fellow Victoria thrower accelerated remorselessly clear.
Momentum, once accrued, can become intoxicating. Kling returned for the second event with the same predatory intent, dismantling Smith in the semi finals before overpowering Cornwall born Darren Penhall to complete a dream double. Two events. Two titles. Western Australia had a new headline act.
Somewhere amid Kling’s ascendancy, however, Smith’s competitive instincts began to simmer. Nicknamed “The Guru,” he responded in fittingly enlightened fashion. After negotiating past last year’s league winner, Tim Pusey in the quarter finals, his focus sharpened on preventing a Kling hat trick – and preserving the exclusivity of his own four title masterclass from twelve months earlier.
The semi-final was not merely won. It was administered. Smith prevailed without conceding a leg and, as though punctuating the statement with gilded calligraphy, produced the ADA Tour’s inaugural nine darter. Perfection under pressure. A maximum sequence of arithmetic elegance that instantly elevated the fledgling circuit’s mythology.
By the time he reached the third events showdown against Anthony Shreeve, the crescendo had already peaked. The performance was more measured, less pyrotechnic, yet sufficiently authoritative to secure the title. Substance over spectacle, silverware over sentiment.
Event four introduced mild bewilderment for casual observers scrolling through Darts Connect, as the format pivoted from legs to sets. The structural alteration did little to disrupt Smith’s momentum. He navigated the revised terrain with composed efficiency, edging past Michael Bajowski 2-1 to secure his second crown of the weekend and reaffirm his dominion.
Thus Mandurah concluded with two men departing in buoyant spirits – Kling with a formidable double and Smith with both silverware and a slice of history tucked into his luggage. The ADA Tour may still be in its infancy, but already it possesses its first perfect leg and its first enduring rivalry. And once again, Raymond Smith stands indelibly etched at the centre of it.
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
