2023 could be viewed as a darts line in the sand. The Covid calamity had many effects on our sport, some obvious and some more subtle. The first fully post covid season would see these shake out and Michael Smith’s victory certainly signalled that early doors:
MICHEAL Smith proved the three times a chime adage as he became the eleventh different PDC World Darts Championship winner, at the Alexandra Palace on the first weekend of 2023.
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Many of the headlines spoke of ‘darting destiny’ after Bullyboy bagged his maiden World Crown as well as the Number 1 spot in the World rankings.
In many ways, Michael has been the flagbearer for the first of the new generations in modern/PDC darts. A dozen years ago, he hit a nine-darter and won a Pro Tour event on the same weekend he wasn’t even 20 years old.
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But it was not purely a personal destiny that was achieved. An entire generation of darting talent may finally have supplanted its predecessors.
The 32-year-old gained revenge for 2019 and over Michael van Gerwen in the Final winning 7-4, including a perfect nine-dart leg after his opponent missed D12 himself for a 9, in what was the greatest leg the sport has ever seen!
After winning the Grand Slam of darts weeks previously Smith said:
“Look what this tournament did for Gerwyn Price when he won it – he’s a World Champion now, look at [Michael] van Gerwen when he won the World Grand Prix. It’s my time now.”
Bully Boy had lost 8 consecutive PDC major finals but then put together a run of winning three of the last four, with one of them being the sport’s biggest prize: the Sid Waddell Trophy, £500,000 in prize money, and the title of World Champion.
The Englishman fulfilled his dream of becoming a World Champion and earned the famous call from Master of Ceremonies John McDonald for at least the 2023 season “he is the reigning champion of the world”.
The new World Number 1 opened the Final with the darts, having won ‘the bull’ off-stage against van Gerwen who was appearing in his 6th World Championship Final. It was the former three-time winner who took the opening set at the Alexandra Palace, breaking in the third leg before holding straight after to gain the initiative in the Final.
Best Leg Of Darts Ever?
The 3rd leg of the second set may go down in history as the best the sport of darts has ever seen, after the pair were both left on nine-dart checkouts, with Mighty Mike on 144 and Smith on 141 on the Dutchman’s darts.
The Green Machine missed D12 for the leg and a perfect leg, before the reigning Grand Slam champion stepped up and pinned the D12 for a 141 checkout, sending Wayne Mardle, Stuart Pyke, and the whole of the Alexandra Palace into overdrive!
Both Michaels threw everything at each other in the first six sets, with the Final level at 3-3 as the newly crowned World Champion broke twice in the sixth set to level, after the Winmau man claimed the previous one without reply.
Van Gerwen led 2-0 in the seventh set only for his opponent to claw back and lead 4-3 in the Final, including a 130 finish on double five to break in the fourth leg. This was the moment where Michael Smith kicked on with the rampant Dutchman who was the favourite for the title, starting to wilt once more on the darts world’s biggest stage.
Bully Boy took a 6-3 lead going within one set of World Championship glory, taking the ninth set without reply from his opponent who had started to struggle with his grouping. The World Number 3 took the tenth set but was powerless to stop Smith from taking the title, as he produced a carbon copy of the seventh set in the eleventh.
The St Helens ace finished 106 in the third leg as he bounced back from 2-0 down to take his maiden World Championship title, finding double eight with his second dart in hand to make his darting dreams a reality.
“…and it’s time to step up again. I want to be greedy.”
From ‘New Kids On The Oche’ to the fulfilment of a generation’s potential. What a journey!
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Editors Note: It is truly remarkable to think that although a new generation did indeed take over, from those who had been through the Taylor era, it took the Lukes, Humphries and Littler, to complete the process as Michael slips toward an exit from the top 32 only 3 years later!
Images: PDC
Words/Interview: Paul Woodage
Originally published in DartsWorld Magazine Issue 582
Magazine Pages/Graphics: Darts World Ltd
