Pure relief for the furious “Bully Boy”: Michael Smith was crowned darts world champion for the first time in his third final and thus also stormed to the top of the world rankings.
The Englishman beat longtime dominator Michael van Gerwen 7-4 at London’s Alexandra Palace on Tuesday evening, making him only the second player in history to score a nine-pointer in a World Cup final.
“Other than having my kids, that was the greatest moment of my life,” Smith said.
Last year, Gabriel Clemens’ semi-finalist defeated Peter Wright in the final.
A few weeks after his first major victory in the Grand Slam of Darts after eight unsuccessful finals, Smith took revenge against van Gerwen three years late: in 2019 he had no chance in his first World Cup final against “Mighty Mike”.
Now, winning the Sid Waddell Trophy is sweetened with £500,000 in prize money. In addition, there should soon be a bull in his front yard – at least that’s what the father of two had announced.
14th ninth darter in the history of the Darts World Championship
Meanwhile, ambitious van Gerwen has to console himself with £200,000, the wait for his fourth world title goes on. The 2014, 2017 and 2019 champion could have taken top spot from Gerwyn Price if he had won the final.
The 32-year-old Smith eliminated two Germans on his way to the title: In round three he defeated Martin Schindler 4:3, then he stopped Clemens’ sensational triumph in the semifinals. The fairy tale of the Saarwellinger, who triggered a darts hype in Germany, ended with Smith’s 6-2 success.
Both finalists inspired from the start with rows of 180 shots, they delivered the highlight in set two with what is probably the best leg in World Cup history: first van Gerwen just missed double 12 after eight perfect darts, then Smith did it – von Clemens called the “ball machine” – a few seconds later better with the cheers of the 3000 fans.
The first nine-darter of the tournament was also only the 14th in World Cup history.
Great sounds from Michael van Gerwen
Both players maintained the high level. The World Cup record from 2019, when the 180 recording was played a total of 880 times, was broken after the fourth set. After van Gerwen’s 3-2 lead, Smith shifted up a gear – and was unstoppable.
For van Gerwen, victory in the final would have been the logical consequence of an outstanding year. In addition to three major titles, he won the prestigious Premier League in 2022. At the World Cup, too, the Dutchman conjured up only world-class averages of over 100 points up to the final. In the quarterfinals and semifinals he even remained without losing a set.
But then Smith came along. “I’m not putting myself under any pressure at all,” he said after his semi-final victory. Very different from Gerwen. “He won’t stop me,” he announced full-bodiedly: “No one will stop me.” Actions followed these pithy words but only his counterpart.