Ross Smith has vowed that "karma" will catch up with opponent Mensur Suljovic after the Austrian encouraged the crowd to boo the Englishman during a last-leg decider in round three of the Swiss Darts Trophy.
The two players were deadlocked at 5-5 in their best-of-11-legs clash on Sunday afternoon, with Smith having two match darts at double 18 when Suljovic gestured to the crowd to increase the volume of boos, prompting the Englishman to miss the target and give his opponent a chance at the match.
Suljovic then nailed a double 10 with his last dart to secure the checkout and the victory, although his unsportsmanlike antics left a sour taste in Smith's mouth, later taking to X to post his thoughts after the defeat.
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"I don't blame Mensur for me losing that game," Smith wrote. "I missed two match darts. Simple as that.
"Obviously it's impossible for me to know what he's doing behind my back when I'm throwing apart from the crowd's response.
"If he wants to be an absolute helmet that's on him - karma will come around."
Suljovic is no stranger to controversial incidents. The Austrian denied intentionally provoking Joe Cullen during a World Championship clash last December.
Cullen described his pace of play as like "cheating" and "not darts" after 'The Rockstar' was unhappy with the length of time his opponent was taking to recover his darts and the time he was taking to celebrate - with referee Kirk Bevans even forced to intervene.
"I never, ever do this as a provocation," Suljovic said in his response to Cullen. "I do it only for my game.
"I like my game - I never do it to be a villain. Sorry Joe, I never do this - I love you man."
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