At the moment of his greatest darts triumph was the eternal second MichaelSmith up for a joke.
“I’m actually only used to giving the speech as the loser in the final”said the 32-year-old Englishman after the final of the Grand Slam of Dartsthe Smith with 16:5 against compatriot Nathan Aspinall had decided for himself.
First major title in the ninth attempt
At the ninth attempt, the “bully boy“, how Smith is called, won his first major title and thus in Wolverhampton underlined his role as one of the favorites for the World Cup in London (from December 15). “No one can take that away from me. It takes a lot of pressure off my shoulders”said Smith.
The Englishman had lost eight major finals between 2018 and 2022, including twice at the World Cup. Just three weeks ago, another second place at the European Championships in Dortmund was added. All the more proud Smith well. “I’ll enjoy this until Tuesday”announced the professional, who is number four behind in the world rankings GerwynPrice (Wales), Peter Wright (Scotland) and Michael van Gerwen (Netherlands). “Now I have this big title so let’s see how it goes”added Smith on.