MINEHEAD, United Kingdom — Canadian Jeff (The Silencer) Smith lost to England's Nathan (The Asp) Aspinall in first-round play Friday at the Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals.
Aspinall, ranked 10th in the world, won 6-2 to secure a second-round matchup with European champion Rob (Voltage) Cross.
The 500,000-pound ($853,350) tournament features the top 64 players from the Players Championship events of 2021. The opening day saw all of the world's top 10 advance.
Smith, who won 2,500 pounds (S4,265 as a first-round loser), had a rough start to the trip, with his airline losing his luggage temporarily. He is ranked 58th on the PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) Order of Merit
Runner-up at the 2016 BDO World Darts Championship, the 46-year-old from Hampton, N.B., works at an auto body shop in nearby Saint John when he is not on the pro darts circuit.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 26 2021
The Canadian Press
