1 year ago
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From the moment he hit his first 180 as a teenager, Michael Smith believed it was his destiny to become world champion. Twice before he has come desperately close, losing in the biggest game of them all – including to Michael van Gerwen here in 2019 – but not even in Smith’s wildest dreams did he suspect he would finally fulfil his destiny in these circumstances. “This feeling will never be topped,” the newest champion of the world admitted after a moment he may have thought would never arrive.
We hoped this final, the most mouthwatering in years on paper, would deliver. This year’s PDC World Darts Championship has underwhelmed on occasion but Smith and Van Gerwen have been the best two players on the planet throughout the last 12 months, with 16 ranking titles between them. Ignore their pre-tournament world rankings of four and three respectively: this was a meeting of the two finest tungsten technicians.
And how they delivered. It wasn’t quite at the level of the Raymond van Barneveld versus Phil Taylor tussle in 2007, or Taylor’s nail-biting defeat to John Part four years earlier. But it was littered with memorable moments. The careers of Smith and van Gerwen have followed similar trajectories since they first did battle on the youth tour as teenagers but with one key difference: Van Gerwen has devoured major title after major title, while Smith has faltered at the final hurdle.
Smith had lost eight major finals without a single success before finally ending that hoodoo at the Grand Slam of Darts in November. That left some wondering if it was finally his time to win the big one: and he duly delivered here in a final which featured the greatest leg of darts the world will ever see. Midway through the second set Smith pinned the perfect nine-dart leg: but only after Van Gerwen had missed double-12 for a nine-darter of his own. “I thought I’d give the crowd what they deserved and they got one, the magical nine,” Smith said.
It was a moment of darting history, but Smith wanted the bigger prize. After his nine-darter he barely flinched, simply collecting his darts from the board and going about his business again. You would have forgiven either player for letting their game drop, but the standard remained relentlessly high. For the opening six or seven sets, it was near-perfect darts.
The players kept their heads while everyone around them inside Alexandra Palace was losing theirs. In the latter stages, both players dipped somewhat. Not that Smith will care, mind. After trailing 3-2 in sets he reeled off four in a row in the blink of an eye to go within one of destiny.
In last year’s final, Smith moved 5-4 ahead before Peter Wright reeled off three remarkable sets to deny the man from St Helens. There would be no repeat from Van Gerwen. He briefly threatened the comeback of all comebacks by taking the 10th set, and even moved two legs clear in the 11th. You wondered if that final hoodoo was haunting Smith on the grandest stage of all. But he found a burst of energy and won three consecutive legs, including an 11-darter to win the trophy 7-4 and the £500,000 top prize.
It was all a far cry from just a few months ago, when Smith was known as the player who couldn’t get it done in a major final. Now he is among the pantheon of darting world champions. “I said I’d win this eventually, I said I’d become world champion,” Smith insisted as he fought back tears. “But I want to take over this sport.”
Smith is also now world No 1 for the first time. The boy who was destined to be king for so long is now atop the mountain in more ways than one. Who’d bet against him staying there for some time?
English (US)