Raymond Smith won the 2026 ANZ Premier League after beating Tim Pusey 10-2 in the final on Saturday 31 October at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. At 46, the Australian nicknamed ‘The Guru’ has secured much more than just a trophy: a place at the Grand Slam of Darts and, above all, a return to the PDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace.
Having lost last year’s final to Simon Whitlock (10-7), Smith held his nerve in front of his home crowd this time, posting an average of 87.28 compared to Pusey’s 74.32 and throwing eight 180s over the course of the evening.
A double ticket for the end of the year
The Oceania title opens two doors. Firstly, Smith joins the line-up for the Grand Slam of Darts, scheduled for 14 - 22 November in Wolverhampton, where the PDC has expanded the field to 48 players this season. He will then head to London for the World Championship, from 11 December to 3 January. The victory also comes with a cheque for 30,000 Australian dollars.
He will not be the only representative from the region: Brody Klinge, Mal Cuming and Ben Robb have also secured their places via the Oceania qualifiers.
Nine legs in a row after a shaky start
The final got off to a bad start. Pusey broke Smith’s throw twice early on and seemed to be repeating the script of their four previous encounters, all of which had been won by the 34-year-old. Smith turned the match around by winning nine legs in a row, completely halting his opponent’s momentum and allowing the Brisbane crowd to turn the atmosphere on its head.
“It’s beyond my wildest dreams,” said the winner, who was keen to pay tribute to his club, Inala, and his journey through the local leagues. “Tim is a top-class player; every time I let my guard down, he punished me. Then the crowd got behind me and I took my game to another level.”
Tata and then Whitlock knocked out on the road to the final
Smith’s run hasn’t been straightforward. In the semi-final, he was trailing 4 - 2 to New Zealander Jonny Tata, who had just pulled off a 108 checkout, before winning five legs in a row to secure an 8 - 5 victory. In the other semi-final, Pusey knocked out defending champion Simon Whitlock 8-4, despite an immediate break by the ‘Wizard’ and a comeback from 6-2 to 6-4.
Both finalists had dominated the regular season: Smith had won in Canberra and Auckland, whilst Pusey had triumphed in Melbourne and Newcastle, as well as reaching the final in Adelaide. The final therefore pitted the two most consistent players on the circuit against one another, rather than a favourite and an underdog.
A fourth appearance at Ally Pally, five years on
This title takes Smith back to the World Championships for the fourth time in his career, following a five-year absence. His last appearance was in the 2021/22 edition, where he reached the fourth round before losing to Mervyn King. In the meantime, he has become one of the leading figures on the Oceania circuit, without managing to return to the London stage.
In Wolverhampton, he will arrive with a different status to that of an anonymous qualifier: that of a player who has just won a title and pulled off a final-round upset. It remains to be seen whether this momentum will carry over to a 48-player field where the world’s top seeds will be a far cry from those on the ANZ circuit.
