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

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.

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.

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.

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

Who will win this year's BoyleSports World Grand Prix? World No 1 Luke Littler will be defending his title and you can watch all the action from September 28-October 4, live on Sky Sports. Stream darts and more top sport with no contract.