Adam Smith-Neale

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Adam Smith-Neale
Personal information
Nickname"Big Dog"
Born (1993-10-29) 29 October 1993 (age 31)
Coventry, England
Home townNuneaton, England
Darts information
Playing darts since2010
Darts22g Red Dragon
LateralityRight-handed
Walk-on music"Big Dog" by Akon
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO2018–2020
PDC2010–2018, 2023–
(Tour Card: 2011-2012, 2023–)
WDF2022
Current world ranking107 Decrease 3 (31 October 2024)[1]
WDF major events – best performances
World Ch'shipLast 32: 2020
World MastersWinner (1): 2018
World TrophyLast 32: 2019
PDC premier events – best performances
UK OpenLast 96: 2012
Grand SlamGroup Stage: 2018
European Ch'shipLast 32: 2021
Other tournament wins
PDC Q-School 2023
PDC Challenge Tour 2021
MODUS Online Darts 2022

Youth events

PDC Development Tour 2012
Erdington Day of Darts 2011
King of The Castle 2010
LPKD The Pint Pot 2011

Adam Smith-Neale (born 29 October 1993) is an English professional darts player.

Darts career

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Early career

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Smith-Neale started playing in the PDC at the age of 17 in 2011 when he entered the World Youth Championships and lost in the last 64 to Lewis Venes. The following January Smith-Neale entered Q School and after making the last 16 all four days he was given a two-year tour card to play the Pro tour.[2] Through those 2 years Smith-Neale split his time between playing on the main tour and on the Youth tour, on the main tour he failed to make an impact and only made one TV major which was the 2012 UK Open where he made the last 96. On the Youth tour however Smith-Neale had much more success where he managed to finish the 2011 season 9th in the Rankings which qualified him for the 2012 PDC World Youth Championship where he again went out at the last 64 stage.

In 2012 Smith-Neale won his first PDC tournament when he won Event 7 of the Youth tour [3] and finished the season in 14th qualifying for the 2013 PDC World Youth Championship where he went out in the first round.

After not making the top 64 of the PDC Order of Merit by the end of 2012, Smith-Neale lost his tour card and went to Q-School again. He failed to gain a tour card in 2013, 14, 15, 17, but continued to play on the Challenge Tour and Development Tour during that time.

2018 season

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After failing to get a Tour Card at the start of the 2018 season, Smith-Neale started to play in more BDO events which lead him to qualify for the BDO World Masters. Not being a seed meant that he had to start the tournament at the first round but Smith-Neale won through the first 6 rounds on the floor to reach the stage finals. He defeated Aaron Turner 3-1 in the last 48, Daniel Day 3-0 in the last 32, Mark McGeeney 3-2 in the last 16, Wayne Warren 4-1 in the quarter-finals, Jim Williams 5-3 in the semi-final and BDO Number 1 Glen Durrant 6-4 in the final. Winning the World Masters meant Smith-Neale qualified for the 2019 BDO World Championship, and the 2018 Grand Slam of Darts.

2019

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Prior to the 2019 BDO World Darts Championship, Smith-Neale suffered a broken leg in a fall following a tournament in Italy, with Smith-Neale admitting he was inebriated before the fall. He managed to play his preliminary round match, but did so on crutches, using both during his walk-on and using his right crutch while throwing his darts. He was beaten 3–0 by New Zealand's Mark McGrath.

2023-present

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He regained his tour card in 2023 after defeating Nick Kenny in the final on the last day of Q School, and will play on the PDC circuit for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.[4]

In March 2024, Smith-Neale was suspended by the Darts Regulation Authority following footage emerging of him punching an opponent during an amateur event in Nuneaton.[5]

World Championship results

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BDO

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Performance timeline

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Tournament 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
PDC Ranked televised events
UK Open DNQ 2R DNQ Non-PDC 2R DNQ 1R 2R
European Championship DNQ Non-PDC 1R DNQ
Grand Slam of Darts DNQ RR DNQ
PDC Non-major televised events
PDC World Youth Championship 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R DNP
BDO Ranked televised events
BDO World Championship PDC PR 1R NH DNQ PDC
BDO World Trophy PDC 1R NH
Winmau World Masters PDC 2R PDC W 2R NH DNQ PDC
Career statistics
Year-end ranking 114 91 - - - - 209 - - - 120 - 131


PDC European Tour

Season 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
2012 ADO
DNQ
GDC
DNQ
EDO
DNQ
GDM
DNQ
DDM
DNQ
2021 HDT
DNQ
GDT
3R
2022 Did not play
2023 BSD
DNQ
EDO
DNQ
IDO
DNQ
GDG
DNQ
ADO
DNQ
DDC
1R
BDO
DNQ
CDO
DNQ
EDG
2R
EDM
GDO
HDT
GDC

Career finals

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BDO major finals: 1 (1 titles)

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Legend
Winmau World Masters (1–0)
Performance timeline legend
DNP Did not play in the event DNQ Did not qualify for the event WD Withdrew from the event #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(RR = Round robin)
QF lost in the quarter-finals SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1]
Winner 1. 2018 Winmau World Masters England Glen Durrant 6–4 (s)
  1. ^ (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets.

References

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  1. ^ "PDC Order of Merit". PDPA. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Planet Darts | Latest News | Newsdesk | Newsdesk | Qualifying School Day Four". Archived from the original on 24 September 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Planet Darts | Latest News | Newsdesk | Newsdesk | Smith-Neale & Aubrey's Youth Joy". Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Brown & Huybrechts headline Tour Card winners as 2023 Q Schools conclude". www.pdc.tv. 15 January 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Adam Smith-Neale suspended by darts bosses after allegation he punched opponent at oche". Sky Sports. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
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