Ross^ anger at missing out on World No.2 spot
ROSS ‘The Boss’ Montgomery has been left fuming with the Welsh Darts Organisation after their failure to pay up for last week’s
tournament cost him his world number two ranking.The 45-year-old from Greenhills spoke exclusively to the News last week about his joy at winning the Welsh Open, which was set to propel him to the world number two spot.
But the Welsh Open organisers failed to pay their levy to the World Darts Federation for the tournament, which resulted in no world ranking points being awarded for the tournament.
And, as a result, The Boss has dropped down to number seven in the world rankings.
A gutted Ross told the News this week: "I’m raging about it and I’m upset at what has happened here, but there is not a lot I can do about it.
"What it boils down to is that the Welsh Open failed to pay the World Darts Federation the £1 levy charged for every entry to a ranking tournament. In doing that, there are no points awarded to any of the players taking part, so I lost 150 ranking points which would have taken me to number two in the world.
"It would have been great to be in with a chance at the top spot but now there is a lot more pressure on me as I’ve lost out on so many points.
"This could prove costly for me and, at worst, I could drop out of the top 10 by the end of the season. I’ve got points to defend at the British Open, the England Open and the British Classic soon and there is now a lot of pressure on me to do really well at these
tournaments to maintain my position."There has been no official explanation from the Welsh Darts Organisation as to why they failed to pay the levy – thought to be around £1100 – but Ross says there can be only one or two reasons for it.
He explained: "No-one knows why the WDO have done this, but if you ask me they’ve either fallen out with the World Darts Federation about something or they are so skint that they need to keep the £1100 to make sure Welsh players can go to some tournaments.
"Obviously, it’s tough times at the moment and they may need to hold onto the money they get.
"Whatever the reason, they’ve lost their WDF recognition and their tournament will no longer be one of the prestigious events on the calendar."
Next up for Ross is the BDO International Open in Brean Sands, Somerset on June 13 and 14, but he insists the events of the past week won’t have an impact on his game.
He said: "I don’t think this will unsettle me or anything, it’s just been very disappointing. I will get on with things and I’ll just need to keep picking up points and making sure I stay in the top 10.
"I’ve been playing well recently and I hope I can keep that up in my next tournament."
Story by: East Kilbride News