Ross Smith (Photo by Tom Saules/PDC Europe)
Ross Smith claimed his first maiden European Tour title on Sunday, edging out Ryan Searle 8-3 in a thrilling final to triumph in dramatic fashion.
Smith sealed his ninth PDC ranking title on a memorable weekend in Riesa, dispatching a host of big name stars to scoop the £35,000 top prize and assert himself comfortably into the world’s top 16.
The former European Champion produced a series of clinical displays throughout the weekend, before denying Searle in a high-quality final to become the seventh different winner on the European Tour circuit this season.
The Englishman kicked off his weekend with a brilliant round two victory over Joe Cullen, beating his compatriot 6-3 with an average upwards of 102 and a 60% doubling percentage.
Smith faced a gruelling test on Sunday afternoon against Ricardo Pietreczko, breaking the throw for the first time in the match at the very end to triumph 6-4 and deny the German from going any further on home soil.
The 37-year-old survived a scare in the quarter-final stage, beating Michael van Gerwen in a brutal last-leg decider despite averaging seven points less than the coveted Dutchman.
Smith raced through his semi-final contest against Cameron Menzies, whitewashing the Scot – who was playing in his first European Tour semi-final of 2026 – to book his place against Searle in the weekend’s showpiece.
The Kent-born star raced into a 3-1 lead over Searle, breaking the throw in the fourth to double his lead.
Searle responded quickly, getting two legs back in quick succession, before Smith bolted away, winning five out of the next six legs to claim his first title on the fifth time of asking on the European Tour stage.
“I’m so happy to finally win one,” Smith insisted, after failing to win a European Tour title in his previous four finals.
“It grates on your head, you think to yourself if you’re ever going to win one [a European Tour].
“Yeah, finally, I’ve won a Players Championship title, a European Tour title and a major now – that was for my mum and dad!”
Smith, who won the European Championship in 2022 beating Michael Smith in the final, explained his desire to win on the European Tour stage.
“It hurts, Ryan was brilliant, he’s a really good mate and when you don’t win one, it hurts.
“You don’t want to keep feeling like that, you try and push yourself, and remember you don’t want to feel like that again.
“Ryan will win loads of these, he’s Ryan Searle, he’s fantastic, he definitely let me off in the final there.”
Searle, who has already won a Players Championship title this year, couldn’t get over the line in Riesa in his first European Tour final since September 2024.
“My doubles were close, they just weren’t going in, but that happens sometimes!” confessed the runner-up.
“I think I shot my bolt against [Rob] Cross in the semi-final, I was a little bit flat in the final.”
Searle opened his account with a 6-3 victory over young star Charlie Manby on Saturday, before dropping just one leg to Kim Huybrechts in Sunday’s afternoon session, beating the Belgian 6-1.
The 38-year-old raced through his quarter-final game against Gian van Veen, winning five out of the last six legs against the Premier League star, before producing an emphatic display against Cross in the semi-final.
The pair shared the spoils throughout, with Cross pinning four ton-plus checkouts in the contest, including a 164 outshot followed by a 170 checkout to level the tie at six apiece.
Nevertheless, it was Searle who secured victory to reach the final, sealing the victory with a fabulous 130 checkout on the bull to beat the former World Champion 7-6.
In the other quarter-finals, Cross – who came through the reserve list to be in Riesa – survived three match darts against Ryan Joyce and saw out the game via a last-leg decider to bolster his chances of appearing at the World Matchplay in July.
Menzies took the scalp of James Wade, coming from 4-0 down and rattling off six legs on the spin to deny Wade the opportunity of a first European Tour title since 2016.
Following a brilliant weekend of action, the 2026 Winamax European Tour will resume with the Baltic Sea Darts Open from May 29-31, before a Players Championship double-header in Milton Keynes to kick off June’s proceedings.
RESULTS
Round Three
Gian van Veen 6-2 Kevin Doets
Ryan Searle 6-1 Kim Huybrechts
Rob Cross 6-2 Stephen Bunting
Ryan Joyce 6-5 Jermaine Wattimena
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Damon Heta
Ross Smith 6-4 Ricardo Pietreczko
James Wade 6-5 Wessel Nijman
Cameron Menzies 6-2 Martin Schindler
Quarter-Finals
Ryan Searle 6-3 Gian van Veen
Rob Cross 6-5 Ryan Joyce
Ross Smith 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
Cameron Menzies 6-4 James Wade
Semi-Finals
Ryan Searle 7-6 Rob Cross
Ross Smith 7-0 Cameron Menzies
Final
Ross Smith 8-3 Ryan Searle
