The 45th edition of the Winmau World Masters was held from 4 to 7 October at the Royal Spa in Bridlington. Defending champion Krzysztof Ratajski does not participate this year, he has already made the switch to the PDC. Yet in 2018 there will be a resounding surprise for the second year in a row. Adam Smith-Neale wins the title from nowhere. He beats the number 1 in the world Glen Durrant in the final.
Smith-Neale starts in the first round and defeats Jostein Oldret, Darren Herewini, Martin Marti-Santamaria, Aaron Turner, Daniel Day, Marc McGeeney, Wayne Warren and Jim Williams on his way to the final. For Glen Durrant the route is a lot shorter. He only needs to start with the last 32 as a seeded player. There he beats John Walton and then Gary Stone, Gary Robson and Scott Mitchell are also defeated.
In the final Smith-Neale beats Durrant 6-4 in sets. Smith-Neale wins his first international title, immediately a very big one! Durrant remains at two World Masters victories in 2015 and 2016.