Ross Smith jokingly told rival Joe Cullen to “shut up” after claiming his seventh ProTour title.
The Dover ace stormed to an 8-2 victory over Chris Dobey in the Leicester final to pocket the £15,000 top prize.
But during his post-match interview, Smith — nicknamed “Smudger” — was heckled by Cullen and responded in playful fashion: “Will you shut up!”
The world No.15 admitted he had been feeling “nervy” in recent weeks but was delighted to rediscover his rhythm.
“I wouldn’t say I feel unstoppable. I’d say I played consistently today,” he said.
“When you win a title, you need a little bit of luck along the way unless you’re playing exceptional.
“Chris, thankfully for me, he didn’t turn up today. We all know how good he is — one of the best in the world — so I’m glad to beat him.
“I felt really relaxed. It’s taken a couple of weeks to settle back in. It’s the best I’ve felt this year.
“I always set myself a target. Since I won my first title, I’ve gone into every year knowing I need to win one — so I’m on course in 2026.”
Smith averaged 97.42 across the day, defeating Dave Chisnall 6-3 in the quarter-finals before beating Karel Sedlacek 7-4 in the semi-finals.
His triumph comes after a disappointing early exit at the World Darts Championship in December, where he was knocked out in the first round by Andreas Harrysson.
Smith was frank about his slow start to the season but warned rivals he is now back to his best.
“The first few weeks I’ve been a bit nervy and not feeling great. You just want to get off to a good start,” he admitted.
“As soon as I hit the board today, I felt relaxed and it was full steam ahead. I feel like I played really well.
“I’m confident, but every day is different. You can average 105 and still lose.
“Anyone who plays me now is going to have to play well to beat me. I’m playing really well.”
Elsewhere, Dobey fired in a superb nine-darter as he beat Ricky Evans in the last 64 at the Mattioli Arena.
Gerwyn Price suffered a surprise first-round exit after a 6-2 defeat to Adam Lipscombe, while Peter Wright picked up his first win of the season against Oskar Lukasiak.
Josh Rock was beaten in his opener by James Hurdle, and Beau Greaves saw her run end in round two following defeat to Damon Heta.
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