“Pfff. Oh. Man.” These are the slogans that Kevin Doets utters on Friday evening when he plops down on a chair in the catacombs of the Alexandra Palace in London. Just minutes after he drove world champion Michael Smith to despair on the very first evening of the World Darts Championship.
What if that one double 16 had flown in in the fourth set? Then Doets, who at that time had a 2-1 lead in sets, was one leg away from the World Cup stunt of the year. Maybe from the last ten years. But Doets missed, after which Smith struck on double 20 to make it 2-2 in sets. When Bully Boy After throwing out 142 in the fifth set – which Doets had started – the Dutch World Cup debutant knew what time it was. “That 142 finish was killing me, it hurt, it really hurt.”
Or that was the difference between a world champion and a World Cup debutant? “I think so,” sighs Doets, who managed to hit no fewer than nine 180’s and recorded an average of 101.91. Figures that made him see Smith’s nerves increasing. “I felt like I wasn’t necessarily the better one, but he was certainly not the better one either. I really had the feeling from the first to the last arrow: if I keep doing what I’m doing, I’ll just win here.”
I don’t want to sound arrogant, but this wasn’t even my best game
Suprised? No, that was not Doets himself at all. ,,Do you know what it is? I’ve thrown that well before, but it stayed a bit under the radar. I have already won against Van Gerwen, I have already won against Price. I’ve won against all the big names, but never on the big stage. The people close to me know how good I am and I know that too. So I knew I had a good chance of winning against Smith. His last months were not good and mine were.”
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The signs were also promising for the Dutch World Cup debutant. In the very first match of the World Cup, Doets won his first round match against the colorful American Stowe Buntz, not so long ago a quarter-finalist at the Grand Slam of Darts. It became 3-0. And the very first three arrows of this World Cup? Doets aimed them all into the triple 20. “Yes, I enjoyed it immensely. It was amazing. Winning that first round was also very important for my career. I took that good feeling into the second round, but then you meet the world champion who is just a little bit better. I would have won with nine out of ten people. Unfortunately not now, but we will be back next year,” he said with determination.
Then Doets hopes to enter the Alexandra Palace with more stage experience. Until Friday evening he only played once at the UK Open and the Players Championship Finals. “We’ll see what kind of boost this gives. I put myself on the map. People know me now and I have shown myself to the whole world. I don’t want to sound arrogant, but this wasn’t even my best game. I know I can do even better and that in the coming years I can reach the quarter-finals or semi-finals, maybe even further.”
Michael Smith’s Boxing: ‘I thought: what does this mean?’
When Doets leveled the score to 1-1 in sets, he received a boxing from Smith. As if the world champion wanted to say: ‘Nice that you also took a set’. “I thought that was strange. I was like, ‘Dude, what does this mean?’ We play against each other and we’re not friends at the moment, but I guess that’s the way he is.”
Something Smith agreed afterwards: “That was not meant to be derogatory. It was a way of saying: well done. I appreciate good play. Last year when Michael (van Gerwen, ed.) missed a nine-darter in the final, I also thought that was a shame. That’s who I am. I like good play and respect my opponent. He works hard for it, I work hard for it. I just wanted to say: well done.”
Smith said he was never really worried: “I always have 100 percent confidence in myself and didn’t feel the extra pressure as world champion. I just felt like Michael Smith who is here to win,” said Bully Boy, who cannot cope with the fact that others have doubts about whether he will extend his title after a poor year. “Everyone is allowed to do whatever they want behind their keyboard, but I think many people are just jealous.”
Darts World Cup schedule
• Watch here the complete schedule for the Darts World Cup, including the day-by-day program. Check out everything you need to know about the World Cup here: what is the prize money, how many legs are played per round and which Dutch people participate?
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