Final Furlong For Smith

The 2023 Cazoo World Darts Championship kicked off on Thursday night at the Alexandra Palace, with defending champion Peter Wright dropping just one leg as he beat Micky Mansell 3-0. Friday sees the return of last year’s Runner Up Michael Smith who starts his journey tonight in the Second Round against Development Tour Number 1 Nathan Rafferty.

Bully Boy ended what was a long wait for his very first televised major title, beating Nathan Aspinall 16-5 to win the 2022 Grand Slam of Darts at Aldersley Leisure Village, whilst also including a staggering seventeen maximums against the great Raymond van Barneveld in the Semi Finals.

The St Helens ace has also reached the Final of both the UK Open and the European Championship Finals, whilst also becoming the first winner at Madison Square Garden, New York after beating Michael van Gerwen 8-4 with an average just shy of a ton.

Smith comes into the Alexandra Palace as the fourth seed, having reached the Final in North London twice after losing to MVG back in 2019. The Englishman was involved in two World Championship classics last year, beating Jonny Clayton and World Number 1 Gerwyn Price in last set deciders on route to the Final.

The 32-year-old has performed well on both the Pro Tour and the Euro Tour, winning three consecutive Players Championship titles in Wigan and Niederhausen with averages over a ton in all three Finals. His best performance came in the Final of Players Championship 15 where he beat Callan Rydz 8-3 with a score of 109.95.

Bully Boy also won the Dutch Darts Championship, gaining revenge on Danny Noppert after losing the UK Open Final to the Freeze. The World Number 4 won a last leg decider (8-7) against the now World Number 9 in his only Euro Tour win of the year.

Smith will be wary of Second Round opponent Nathan Rafferty who impressed on Thursday night against Jermaine Wattimena, including three maximums and eighteen 140s in a 3-2 win.

Last year’s Runner Up will feature in the last match in Friday’s evening session at the Ally Pally, as WDF Ladies World Champion Beau Greaves makes her PDC World Championship debut earlier in the night against former World Cup of Darts finalist William O’Connor.

In addition, the night’s opening encounter is intriguing for those who like a little strutting and plumage shaking! Laurence Iligan and Rowby John Rodriguez like to be seen and could produce a very interesting match up

2023 World Darts Championship Day 2 Order of Play: Evening Session

First Round:

Rowby-John Rodriguez v Laurence Ilagen

William O’Connor v Beau Greaves

Keegan Brown v Florian Hempel

Second Round:

Michael Smith (4) v Nathan Rafferty

—–ENDS—–

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