Sports
Swiss Darts Trophy: Former world champion Michael Smith plans on playing ‘100 per cent of the tournaments’ in 2027 after opening win | Darts News
Former world champion Michael Smith says he plans on “playing 100 per cent of the tournaments” in 2027 after an opening win at the Swiss Darts Trophy.
‘Bully Boy’ Smith fought back from 3-1 down to beat Rob Owen, hitting 50 per cent of his doubles in just his fourth European Tour event of the season.
“I’ve missed this. I want to apologise and also make a promise in 2027 I will be playing 100 per cent of the tournaments. You will see me back,” said the 2023 world champion.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Michael Smith revealed he has been playing in discomfort after being diagnosed with arthritis in his wrists in 2025, but despite this setback he believes he can get back to his best and challenge for titles again
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Watch how Michael Smith overcame several setbacks to become a world darts champion in 2023
Smith is chasing down the final spots in the European Championship race and the St Helens thrower beat Owen 6-4 to set up a meeting with Jermaine Wattimena for a place in Sunday’s action.
Rob Cross was Friday’s standout performer for the second event in a row, averaging 105.95 in his 6-3 success against Mario Vandenbogaerde and will take on Luke Woodhouse on the back of his brilliant opening round performance at the World Grand Prix.
Bradley Brooks also produced an excellent display of darting brilliance in his opening round contest against Niels Zonneveld, as the former World Youth Champion averaged over a ton in a 6-4 victory over the World Grand Prix quarter-finalist, in a game that saw both players average over a ton and hit 13 maximums between them.
Brooks has now won four out of a possible four round-one games in European Tour events this year, and will take on Chris Dobey for a place in the final day of action at St Jakobshalle.
Karel Sedlacek’s hopes of sealing a spot at the European Championship continue into Saturday’s action as he swept aside Sebastian Bialecki to stay alive in the race for place in Dortmund later this month.
The Czech star averaged upwards of a ton and came back from 4-3 down to defeat the Pole 6-4, which included a brilliant 86 checkout on the bull to break the throw for the first time in the contest.
Stefan Bellmont defeated Andrew Gilding to send the Swiss crowd wild in Basel
Stefan Bellmont produced a brilliant display on home soil in Basel as he created history by becoming the third Swiss player to win a match at the tournament, as he beat Andrew Gilding 6-3.
The 37-year-old, who featured in his tenth European Tour event in his career, pinned five legs on the spin to defeat the former UK Open champion, and has his eyes set on a place in Saturday’s action.
“Playing in front of your home crowd is very special and I wanted to win so much.” Bellmont reflected, who managed to win only his third match on the European Tour and will face Krzysztof Ratajski in round two.
“There were quite a few nerves in the early stages of the match, but thankfully I was able to raise my game.
“I know I will have to play better tomorrow but for now I just want to enjoy this amazing moment.”
Maik Kuivenhoven ended a losing streak of almost five years in Basel, as the Dutchman beat compatriot Raymond van Barneveld 6-3 to deny van Barneveld his first European Tour victory of the year.
Dave Chisnall and Tom Bissell both secured last-leg victories in their opening round contests against Alan Soutar and Joe Cullen respectively.
Cristo Reyes’ first win on the European Tour since May came in style, as the Spaniard beat Scotsman Cameron Menzies with an average of 98 and will face Ryan Searle next.
The Swiss Darts Trophy continues with a bumper double session on Saturday, as the 16 seeded representatives enter the fray on Day Two in Basel.
2026 Swiss Darts Trophy
Friday October 9
Round One
Afternoon Session
Bradley Brooks 6-4 Niels Zonneveld
William O’Connor 6-1 Jani Haavisto
Mensur Suljovic 6-3 Gyorgy Jehirszki
Karel Sedlacek 6-4 Sebastian Bialecki
Niko Springer 6-1 Roman Wellinger
Tom Bissell 6-5 Joe Cullen
Cristo Reyes 6-4 Cameron Menzies
Rob Cross 6-3 Mario Vandenbogaerde
Evening Session
Stefan Bellmont 6-3 Andrew Gilding
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-4 Sietse Lap
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Alan Soutar
Maik Kuivenhoven 6-3 Raymond van Barneveld
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3 Bruno Stoeckli
Michael Smith 6-4 Rob Owen
Damon Heta 6-2 Alex Fehlmann
Kevin Doets 6-3 Nick Kenny
Saturday October 10
Round Two
Afternoon Session (12pm)
Krzysztof Ratajski vs Stefan Bellmont
Wessel Nijman vs Karel Sedlacek
Luke Woodhouse vs Rob Cross
Martin Schindler vs Tom Bissell
Ryan Searle vs Cristo Reyes
Ross Smith vs William O’Connor
Chris Dobey vs Bradley Brooks
Jermaine Wattimena vs Michael Smith
Evening Session (6pm)
Josh Rock vs Dave Chisnall
Stephen Bunting vs Jeffrey De Graaf
James Wade vs Dirk van Duijvenbode
Jonny Clayton vs Maik Kuivenhoven
Michael van Gerwen vs Mensur Suljovic
Luke Humphries vs Kevin Doets
Gian van Veen vs Niko Springer
Danny Noppert vs Damon Heta
Sky Sports remains the home of darts with the Grand Slam of Darts (November 14-22) and World Darts Championship (December 11-January 3) all live. Stream darts and more through NOW with no contract.
>
Pioneer Pete took his form to a new level with a tenacious display from the front in the ‘Welsh Champion’ Hurdle
>
West Hill Verde landed his first career success with a battling victory in the Grade Two Persian War Novices’ Hurdle on day one of the Welsh Racing Festival at Chepstow.
>
Sports
Singapore GP: Kimi Antonelli casts further doubt over performance of Mercedes upgrades after disappointing Sprint Qualifying | F1 News
World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli cast further doubt over the performance of Mercedes’ recent upgrade package as he explained his car was “very difficult” to drive during Sprint Qualifying in Singapore.
After the long-awaited upgrades failed to deliver improved performance when they debuted at last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, Mercedes decided to compare different specifications of the car in Singapore.
Antonelli is running the latest version, which included an additional front wing that had not been available in Malaysia, while George Russell is running the pre-Malaysia version of the car that he won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in last month.
The early evidence was concerning for Mercedes as Russell finished second to Max Verstappen in the shortened qualifying session, with Antonelli more than half a second down on his team-mate in seventh.
Asked whether he was surprised by the performance, Antonelli said: “Yes and no, to be fair. Already in FP1 I was struggling.
“Still a lot to understand about this package. The car is very difficult, very unpredictable, and very difficult to put a lap together.
“It’s a shame because I was coming with high hopes, but so far it’s been very difficult.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights from Sprint Qualifying at the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix
While both Antonelli and Mercedes have built extremely commanding leads in the drivers’ and constructors’ standings and are near certainties for this year’s titles, a lack of clarity in future development direction could have consequences for next season.
“I think it’s going to be a difficult weekend unless we can pull something out,” Antonelli continued.
“But other than that it’s going to be very tricky. I don’t really see where we can find seven tenths.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sky Sports News’ Craig Slater explains the FIA ‘human error’ which caused a power disparity between the cars during Sprint Qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix
“But you never know. Maybe (Antonelli’s engineer) Bono (Peter Bonnington) and the engineers are going to find something in the car.
“And for sure, I’m going to try to improve a little bit the driving, and then we’ll see where we’ll end up.”
Wolff suggests Mercedes may rethink upgrade strategy
Mercedes’ major Malaysia upgrade was their first significant new package since May’s Canadian Grand Prix and team principal Toto Wolff suggested the Silver Arrows may bring upgrades in smaller steps in the future.
“We felt that the right strategic decision was to work towards a bigger one and then introduce it. Obviously, with the risk of if it doesn’t work as you’ve anticipated, it’s just quite difficult to dial yourself out and understand why it hasn’t worked,” he said.
“So, it’s something which we will look at in the future of saying maybe we’ll do smaller steps, and then if there is a warning light saying, ‘OK’, it’s easier to undo. But there is no clear way at that stage because so far it has worked.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Toto Wolff hits back at accusations that Mercedes favour Antonelli over Russell
“I remember 2022. We thought we had one-and-a-half seconds we’re putting on the car at the beginning of the season, and that backfired.
“But since then, this year particularly, every upgrade we brought on the car, remember Montreal was a big hit, a big hit in terms of it worked very well. So, if that didn’t, why? That’s the most important question. And if we come to conclusions that say this is what wasn’t as expected, then we have to obviously think for the future.”
Russell, who starts on the front row in Saturday’s Sprint in Singapore behind pole-sitter Verstappen, says Mercedes will see how Antonelli fares over the remainder of the weekend.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Watch Max Verstappen claim Sprint pole from Russell in SQ3
“We can definitely confirm the old one is not bad. Let’s see what Saturday brings with Kimi on the upgrade,” he said.
“As a team, there’s still nothing telling us it isn’t working. But it’s a sport driven by the stopwatch and the stopwatch has not been great for the upgrade yet. Let’s see. Maybe tomorrow (Saturday) is a different day.”
Sky Sports F1’s live Singapore GP Sprint weekend schedule
Saturday October 10
9am: Singapore GP Sprint build-up*
10am: Singapore GP SPRINT*
1pm: Singapore Grand Prix Qualifying build-up
2pm: SINGAPORE GP QUALIFYING*
4pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the Singapore Grand Prix
Sunday October 11
11.30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Singapore GP build-up
1pm: THE SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
3pm: Chequered Flag: Singapore GP reaction
4pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is in Singapore for the last Sprint weekend of the season with Sunday’s Grand Prix at 1pm (build-up from 11.30am) live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
>
Pioneer Pete dominates the 'Welsh Champion' Hurdle | Full Race Replay
West Hill Verde lands thrilling Persian War at Chepstow | Full race replay
Anthropic can’t reliably control its AI agents. It’s cutting off its internal evals from the live internet instead
-
movies5 months agoSearch For Canadian TV Actor Stewart McLean Now Homicide Investigation
-
Fashion9 years agoThese ’90s fashion trends are making a comeback in 2017
-
Fashion9 years ago
According to Dior Couture, this taboo fashion accessory is back
-
Fashion9 years ago
Model Jocelyn Chew’s Instagram is the best vacation you’ve ever had
-
Fashion9 years ago
Emily Ratajkowski channels back-to-school style
-
Fashion9 years ago
9 Celebrities who have spoken out about being photoshopped
-
Anime4 months agoRurouni Kenshin: Hokkaido Arc Manga Takes 1-Issue Break – News
-
Anime3 months agoHIDIVE to Stream English Dubs for The World Is Dancing, The Forsaken Saintess and Her Foodie Roadtrip in Another World, The Dangers in My Heart: The Movie Anime – News