Hungarian Darts Trophy: Ross Smith defeats Gary Anderson as Scot's fairy-tale run ends in final

Ross Smith claimed the Hungarian Darts Trophy in emphatic style, routing Gary Anderson 8-2 in Sunday's final to land a second European Tour title of the year.

Smith averaged 101 and converted 73 per cent of his attempts at a double in a near-flawless closing display at the MVM Dome, giving Anderson no way back into a contest that slipped away from the veteran almost immediately and sealing a fourth win of the day for the champion.

Smith had been the tournament's model of scoring control from the first day of his involvement, opening with a 101 average against William O'Connor that featured 116 and 112 checkouts.

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He then saw off fourth seed Jonny Clayton 6-4 in the last 16 before dismantling 2023 champion Dave Chisnall 6-2 in a quarter-final that guaranteed a first-time winner of this title.

His semi-final was the most one-sided match of the weekend's business end, with last year's runner-up Danny Noppert swept aside 7-3 in a clinical display that gave Smith the fresher legs for the final.

Anderson's run, although he was vanquished in the final, ends as the story of the weekend all the same.

The two-time world champion had arrived in Budapest without a European Tour win in 2026 and opened with a statement, a 105.27 average in a 6-2 dismantling of Krzysztof Ratajski that ended the Pole's bid for back-to-back European Tour titles.

What followed was an escalating sequence of escapes.

Anderson hit eight 180s in recovering from 3-0 down to edge eighth seed Stephen Bunting in a deciding leg, then repeated the trick against second seed Gian van Veen in a quarter-final thriller.

The Scottish veteran then won the match of the tournament against Nathan Aspinall, staring down five match darts in a 7-6 epic and conjuring a 160 checkout simply to stay alive, before the final proved one test too many.

Deciders define finals day in Budapest

The title decider crowned a finals day of upsets that began with Aspinall knocking out Michael van Gerwen 6-4 in the last 16, recovering from 3-1 down in a match of nervy doubles to end the 2024 champion's bid for a second crown.

That came a day after top seed Luke Humphries and defending champion Niko Springer had fallen, meaning the tournament's past two winners both exited before the final session.

Aspinall's weekend, prior to meeting Anderson, was a study in finding a way through matches where he couldn't find his best form. Out-averaged by Ryan Joyce in his opening match, he came through on five 180s and sheer volume of chances at a double – and his quarter-final against Chris Dobey turned on a 156 checkout before he edged another deciding leg.

Dobey had comebacks of his own to look back on, recovering from 4-0 down to beat Tom Sykes in a decider on Saturday before closing Sunday's afternoon session by reeling in a 170 finish to see off sixth seed Josh Rock 6-3.

Dirk van Duijvenbode ended a nine-match losing run against Humphries on Saturday and was the first man into the quarter-finals, beating Rob Cross 6-4 to end the former world champion's run of successive deciding-leg escapes, before Noppert halted him 6-5.

Springer's title defence had lasted just 14 minutes against Ryan Searle on Saturday, the German missing the bull for a 164 that would have forced a decider, and with Humphries, Van Gerwen and Clayton also gone by Sunday afternoon, Van Veen stood as the highest seed left until Anderson took him out too.

Hungarian Darts Trophy results

Sunday August 30
Final
Ross Smith 8-2 Gary Anderson

Semi-Finals
Ross Smith 7-3 Danny Noppert
Gary Anderson 7-6 Nathan Aspinall

Quarter-Finals
Danny Noppert 6-5 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Ross Smith 6-2 Dave Chisnall
Gary Anderson 6-5 Gian van Veen
Nathan Aspinall 6-5 Chris Dobey

Round Three
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-4 Rob Cross
Danny Noppert 6-4 Ryan Searle
Ross Smith 6-4 Jonny Clayton
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Keane Barry
Gian van Veen 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
Gary Anderson 6-5 Stephen Bunting
Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Chris Dobey 6-3 Josh Rock

Saturday August 29
Round Two
Afternoon Session - 12pm
Ross Smith 6-2 William O'Connor
Dave Chisnall 6-2 Wessel Nijman
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 Andrew Gilding
Danny Noppert 6-4 Ritchie Edhouse
Ryan Searle 6-4 Niko Springer
Rob Cross 6-5 Luke Woodhouse
Gary Anderson 6-2 Krzysztof Ratajski
Chris Dobey 6-5 Tom Sykes

Evening Session - 6pm
Stephen Bunting 6-1 Jonas Masalin
Jonny Clayton 6-3 Laszlo Kadar
Keane Barry 6-2 Madars Razma
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Luke Humphries
Michael van Gerwen 6-4 James Hurrell
Gian van Veen 6-0 Nandor Major
Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Ryan Joyce
Josh Rock 6-0 Joe Cullen

Friday August 28
Round One
Afternoon Session
Jonas Masalin 6-4 Kevin Doets
Andrew Gilding 6-0 Milan Biro
Ritchie Edhouse 6-1 Connor Scutt
Niko Springer 6-1 Maik Kuivenhoven
William O'Connor 6-2 Samuel Price
Keane Barry 6-2 Martin Schindler
Ryan Joyce 6-3 Cristo Reyes
Dave Chisnall 6-3 Andras Borbely

Evening Session
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 David Pisek
Laszlo Kadar 6-5 Daryl Gurney
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-5 Callan Rydz
Joe Cullen 6-3 Adam Leek
Rob Cross 6-5 Beau Greaves
Nandor Major 6-5 Niels Zonneveld
Tom Sykes 6-1 Cameron Menzies
James Hurrell 6-5 Damon Heta

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