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Michael Smith (darts player)

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Michael Smith
Smith in 2017
Personal information
NicknameBully Boy
Born (1990-09-18) 18 September 1990 (age 34)
England
Home townSt Helens, Merseyside
Darts information
Playing darts since2006
DartsUnicorn Contender Silver 90% Tungsten Darts 22g
LateralityRight-handed
Walk-on musicShut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon
Organisation (see split in darts)
PDC2008–
Current world ranking9
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'shipQuarter Final: 2016
World MatchplayLast 16: 2014, 2016, 2018
World Grand PrixLast 16: 2015
UK OpenLast 16: 2017, 2018
Grand SlamSemi Final: 2015
European Ch'shipQuarter Final: 2017
Premier LeagueRunner Up: 2018
PC FinalsLast 16: 2012
MastersQuarter Final: 2016
Champions LeagueGroup Stage: 2016
Other tournament wins
PDC World Youth Championship 2013
PDC Youth Tour England 2012 (x5)
UK Open Qualifier 2011, 2015, 2018

European Tour Events

European Darts Trophy 2014, 2015
Gibraltar Darts Trophy 2017
International Darts Open 2015

Players Championships

Players Championship (SPA) 2012
Players Championship (BAR) 2018

World Series of Darts

Shanghai Darts Masters 2018
Other achievements
2013 Breaks into the world's top 32 for the first time

2014 PDC Young Player of the Year

2015 Breaks into the world's top 16 for the first time

Michael Smith (born 18 September 1990) is a professional English darts player playing in Professional Darts Corporation events. He is the 2013 PDC Under-21 World Champion and has since won six titles on the PDC Pro Tour. Smith is managed by Tommy Gilmour MBE of Dunvegan Darts and mentored by team mate Scottish darts player Gary Anderson.

Early life

Smith attended Saint Cuthbert's High School in St Helens. When he was 15 he fell off his bike on the way to school breaking his hip which required him to use crutches for 16 weeks. During that period Smith began playing darts for the first time out of boredom and threw his first 180 whilst on crutches. After leaving school he took a joinery course at college, but dropped out with one exam remaining to play in a darts tournament instead, a decision which he has described as the best of his life.[1] He was a regular winner of local darts events and made his debut in a PDC major at the 2009 UK Open where he lost 6–5 to Dave Ladley in the first round.[2]

Career

Smith reached the last 32 of the 2010 UK Open, knocking out Peter Manley and Matt Clark before losing to Mervyn King. He was one of a number of young players to make a significant impact in the tournament, along with William O'Connor, Arron Monk and Reece Robinson.

He was the number four seed for the 2011 PDC Under-21 World Championship, and lost in the quarter-finals to Benito van de Pas.[3]

On 26 February 2011, Smith hit a nine-dart finish in a PDC Youth Tour event in Barnsley, against Michael van Gerwen. He eventually won through to the final, where he lost to Shaun Griffiths.[4] The following day, he won his first PDC Pro Tour event, defeating Dave Chisnall 6–5 in the final of the 2011 UK Open Qualifier 2.[5]

Smith had now become a full-time professional on the PDC darts Circuit and made his debut at the World Championships in 2012, losing 0–3 to Co Stompé in the first round. Smith only hit 3 of his 14 darts at a double during the match.[6]

2012

Smith won his second professional tournament in January 2012, at the Players Championship Event 2 in Benidorm. He won seven matches, concluding with a 6–3 victory over Justin Pipe to take the title and the £6,000 prize money.[7] In April, he earned a place in the European Tour Event 1 in Vienna by defeating Les Wallace and Shaun Griffiths in the UK qualifier.[8] He played Jamie Caven in the first round and hit a nine dart finish on his way to a 6–4 win,[9] but then lost 5–6 to Mark Walsh in round two.[10] His results meant he qualified for the World Matchplay for the first time in his career via the ProTour Order of Merit.[11] He faced Raymond van Barneveld in the first round and was comfortably beaten 4–10.[12] Smith also played in the World Grand Prix for the first time, losing to Phil Taylor 0–2 in sets in the first round.[13] After all 33 ProTour events of 2012 had been played, Smith was 25th on the Order of Merit, inside the top 32 who qualified for the Players Championship Finals.[14] It was Smith's first appearance in the tournament and he edged out Ian White 6–5 in the first round, before losing 6–10 to Kim Huybrechts.[15]

2013

Smith's position on the ProTour Order of Merit also saw him qualify for the 2013 World Championship,[16] as he took the second of sixteen places that were awarded to the highest non-qualified players.[17] However, he ran into an in-form Raymond van Barneveld in the first round who averaged 108.31 as Smith could only win one leg during the match in a 0–3 defeat.[18] Smith reached the final of the third UK Open Qualifier in March, but was beaten 2–6 by Michael van Gerwen.[19] Smith won the 2013 PDC World Youth Championship with a 6–1 victory over Ricky Evans which was broadcast just before the 2013 Premier League Darts Final. Smith led van Barneveld 3–0 in the third round of the UK Open, but went on to lose 8–9.[20] In October, he advanced to the semi-finals for the second time in 2013 at the 12th Players Championship but his run was ended with a 6–3 defeat to Kevin Painter.[21] His youth title earned him a place in the Grand Slam of Darts and he produced an impressive display in his first group match against Dave Chisnall as from 3–1 down he hit legs of 11, 12, 14 and 13 darts to win 5–3 with an average of 103.17.[22] However, he then lost 5–2 to Scott Waites and 5–1 to Ted Hankey to finish third in Group H and be eliminated from the tournament.[23]

2014

Smith broke into the world's top 32 on the Order of Merit just before the cut-off for the 2014 World Championship to qualify through the main ranking list for the first time.[24] He beat Morihiro Hashimoto 3–1 in the first round.[25] He then incredibly defeated reigning and 16-time world champion Phil Taylor 4–3 in the second round, taking out the bullseye on a 128 finish to win the match.[26] In the next round Smith hit a 136 finish, with his opponent Peter Wright waiting on 41, to lead 3–2 but only won one more leg after this to lose 4–3 in a high quality encounter.[27] He was named the PDC's Young Player of the Year at the Annual Awards in January.[28] Smith won through to the final of the sixth UK Open Qualifier of the year but averaged just 70.94 as he was whitewashed 6–0 by Michael van Gerwen.[29] A rematch against Wright followed in the third round of the UK Open with Smith throwing for the match in the final leg, but he missed a total of seven darts at doubles to lose 9–8.[30] His second final of 2014 was at the fifth Players Championship which he reached by beating Raymond van Barneveld 6–3 in the quarter-finals and Gary Anderson 6–4 in the semis, but was again whitewashed in the decider, this time by Brendan Dolan.[31]

At the World Matchplay he recorded a 10–8 victory over Justin Pipe, before losing 13–6 to Taylor in the second round.[32] At the European Darts Grand Prix, Smith eliminated Gary Anderson, Adrian Lewis and Stephen Bunting en route to facing Mervyn King in the final. Smith paid the price for missing too many doubles throughout the match including one to claim the title as he lost his third ranking final of the year 6–5.[33] Another final followed a week later at the 14th Players Championship where he lost 6–4 to Van Gerwen.[34] Smith's rich vein of form continued into the European Darts Trophy as he reached the final and came back from 3–0 against Van Gerwen to win the title 6–5, which included a key 158 finish to break throw in the ninth leg.[35] He suffered first round exits at the World Grand Prix and European Championship, but topped Group F at the Grand Slam by winning all three of his games.[36] Smith then knocked out Christian Kist 10–5, but was thrashed 16–3 by Taylor in the quarter-finals losing 13 straight legs from 3–3.[37] His year in the major events concluded with a 6–4 defeat to Andy Smith in the opening round of the Players Championship Finals.[38]

2015

After seeing off Mensur Suljović 3–1 in the first round of the 2015 World Championship, Smith overcame Brendan Dolan 4–2 after having been 2–0 down, to set up a third round tie with fellow St. Helens player Stephen Bunting.[39] Despite taking out checkouts of 170 and 132, Smith was 3–0 down, before finding his high scoring game to restrict Bunting to one leg as he closed the gap to 3–2. Ultimately his slow start to the match proved costly as he lost the next set to be knocked out 4–2 in a high quality game which saw each player average 102 and hit eight 180s apiece.[40] Smith won the fifth UK Open Qualifier by beating Adrian Lewis 6–5.[41] A rematch with Bunting followed in the third round of the UK Open, with Smith missing two match darts in the deciding leg to be beaten 9–8.[42] He claimed the second European Tour title of his career by winning the International Darts Open with a 6–3 victory over Benito van de Pas in the final.[43] Smith suffered a 10–4 defeat to Gerwyn Price in the first round of the World Matchplay, but retained his European Darts Trophy title by seeing off Michael van Gerwen in the final for the second year in a row.[44] At the World Grand Prix he punished two missed match darts from Price to beat him 2–1, but then lost from 2–0 up in sets against Jamie Lewis in the second round.[45] Wins over Wayne Jones, Lewis and Andy Fordham saw Smith top his group at the Grand Slam and he then averaged 104.59 to beat Dave Chisnall 10–7 and reach the quarter-finals. Smith's first major event semi-final soon followed as he defeated Lewis 16–11, but he was heavily beaten 16–6 by Van Gerwen.[46][47]

2016

At the 2016 World Championship wins over Jeffrey de Zwaan, Steve Beaton and Benito van de Pas saw Smith reach the quarter-finals for the first time, where he was 3–0 ahead of Raymond van Barneveld.[48] He could only win two legs as Van Barneveld moved 4–3 up, but took the next to take the match to a ninth and final set. Smith finished 130 on double five to move within a leg of the match and missed one dart to win it, before Van Barneveld won four legs in a row to end Smith's event.[49] Smith made his debut in the Premier League after receiving a wildcard from the PDC.[50] On the opening night he played twice due to Gary Anderson being ill. Smith lost his first matches 7–1 to Peter Wright and 7–2 to Adrian Lewis. His first point came in week three courtesy of a 6–6 draw with Dave Chisnall. Michael van Gerwen scored a world record three dart average of 123.40 against Smith in a 7–1 win, but the following week Smith got his first Premier League victory by beating Van Barneveld 7–5.[51] However, Smith lost his last two matches to finish bottom of the table and be eliminated from the event.[52]

Smith played in the final of the 2016 Austrian Darts Open and lost 6–4 to Phil Taylor.[53] He saw off Simon Whitlock 10–6 at the World Matchplay, before losing 11–7 to Steve Beaton in the second round and was knocked out 2–1 in sets by Alan Norris in the first round of the World Grand Prix.[54] Smith was also eliminated in the first round of the European Championship and Players Championship Finals.[55]

2017

Smith entered the 2017 World Championship without a match win since September 2016 having lost 10 in a row. He took the deciding set of his first round match with Ricky Evans without dropping a leg and said he had been fighting his demons recently.[56] In the next round he missed five darts to eliminate Mervyn King 4–1, but kept his composure to eventually see him off 4–3.[57] Smith went 3–1 up on James Wade in the third round, but after Wade took the next set, Smith lost six legs in a row to be eliminated 4–3.[58] He missed two darts to win the third UK Open Qualifier as Peter Wright beat him 6–5.[59] Four 6–5 wins saw him reach the final of the Gibraltar Darts Trophy and at 4–4 he took out a 132 finish with Mensur Suljović waiting on 56 to break throw and took home his first title in nearly two years with a 6–4 victory.[60]

World Championship results

PDC

Career finals

PDC major finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

Legend
Premier League (0–1)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1] Ref.
Runner-up 1. 2018 Premier League Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 4–11 (l)
  1. ^ (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets, (m) = matches won.

PDC minor finals: 1 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Legend
World Series of Darts (1–1)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1]
Winner 1. 2018 Shanghai Darts Masters England Rob Cross 8–2 (l)
Runner-up 2. 2018 Melbourne Darts Masters Scotland Peter Wright 8–11 (l)
  1. ^ (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets.

Performance timeline

Tournament 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
PDC World Championship Did not qualify 1R 1R 3R 3R QF 3R 2R
The Masters Not held Did not qualify QF 1R 1R
UK Open 1R 4R 4R 3R 3R 3R 3R 4R 5R 5R
Premier League Darts Did not participate 10th DNP F
World Matchplay Did not qualify 1R DNQ 2R 1R 2R 1R 2R
Champions League of Darts Not held RR DNQ DNQ
World Grand Prix Did not qualify 1R DNQ 1R 2R 1R 1R 1R
European Championship Did not qualify 1R 2R 1R QF
Grand Slam of Darts Did not qualify RR QF SF DNQ 2R
Players Championship Finals Did not qualify 2R 1R 1R 2R 1R 1R
Performance timeline legend
DNP Did not play in the event #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(RR = Round robin) 		QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament

References

  1. ^ "'Beating Taylor has given me belief I can be world's best'". St Helens Reporter. Retrieved 10 July 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ "2009 UK Open Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  3. ^ Dutch Ace & Monk Qualify Archived 10 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine PDC.tv
  4. ^ Griffiths Takes Second Youth Title PDC.tv
  5. ^ Smith's Joy At First Triumph PDC.tv
  6. ^ "Taylor leads seeds through". Sky Sports. 17 December 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  7. ^ "Spanish Win For Super Smith". PDC. 29 January 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  8. ^ "European Tour 1 – UK Qualifier". PDC. 13 April 2012. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "European Tour Event One NetZone". PDC. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  10. ^ "Austrian Darts Open Day Two". PDC. 28 April 2012. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "Betfair World Matchplay Field". PDC. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "Lewis whitewashes Thornton". Sky Sports. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  13. ^ "PartyPoker.com WGP - Monday". PDC. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "Minehead Qualifiers Confirmed". PDC. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
  15. ^ "2012 Players Championship Finals Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  16. ^ "ProTour Order of Merit". PDC. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "2013 PDC World Championship Qualifiers". Darts Database. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  18. ^ "Ladbrokes WDC Day Three". PDC. Archived from the original on 19 December 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ "Three And Easy For Van Gerwen!". PDC. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  20. ^ "Speedy Services UK Open - Friday". PDC. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  21. ^ "Huybrechts Storms To Killarney Win". PDC. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ "William Hill Grand Slam Day One". PDC. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ "2013 Grand Slam Of Darts Fixtures". Darts Database. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  24. ^ "Ladbrokes World Championship Field". PDC. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  25. ^ "Ladbrokes World Championship Day Six". PDC. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  26. ^ "Ladbrokes World Championship Day Eight". PDC. Archived from the original on 22 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ "World Darts Championship: Mark Webster beat Raymond van Barneveld in the third round". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  28. ^ "Awards Treble For van Gerwen". PDC. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  29. ^ "Van Gerwen Dominant In Wigan". PDC. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  30. ^ "Coral UK Open - Friday Evening". PDC. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  31. ^ "Dolan Wins Second Title Of The Year". PDC. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  32. ^ "2014 World Matchplay Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  33. ^ "King Reigns Supreme In Sindelfingen". PDC. Archived from the original on 8 September 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  34. ^ "Mighty Mike Claims Crawley Crown". PDC. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  35. ^ "Smith's European Darts Trophy Joy". PDC. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  36. ^ "2014 Grand Slam Of Darts Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  37. ^ "SINGHA Beer Grand Slam - Saturday". PDC. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  38. ^ "2014 Players Championship Finals Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  39. ^ "William Hill World Championship Day Nine". PDC. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  40. ^ "William Hill World Championship Day Ten". PDC. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  41. ^ "Super Smith Seals Wigan Win". PDC. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  42. ^ "Coral UK Open Third Round". PDC. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  43. ^ "Super Smith Seals Second Euro Crown". PDC. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  44. ^ "Michael Smith beats Michael van Gerwen to retain European Darts Trophy". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  45. ^ "partypoker.com World Grand Prix - Tuesday". PDC. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  46. ^ "SINGHA Beer Grand Slam - Saturday". PDC. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  47. ^ "2015 Grand Slam Of Darts Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  48. ^ "2016 PDC World Championship Fixtures". Darts Database. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  49. ^ "Raymond van Barneveld edges Michael Smith at World Darts Championship". Sky Sports. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  50. ^ "Premier League Darts: Robert Thornton and Michael Smith join established favourites". Sky Sports. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  51. ^ "Michael van Gerwen breaks average record in Premier League match". Sky Sports. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  52. ^ "2016 Premier League Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  53. ^ "Phil Taylor seals a fourth European Tour title in Vienna". Sky Sports. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  54. ^ "2016 World Matchplay Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  55. ^ "Michael Smith 2016 Results". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 15 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  56. ^ "William Hill World Championship Day One". PDC. Archived from the original on 16 December 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  57. ^ "William Hill World Championship Day Nine". PDC. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  58. ^ "William Hill World Championship Day 12". PDC. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  59. ^ "Wonderful Wright Seals Wigan Double". PDC. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  60. ^ "Four-Some Smith's Gibraltar Joy". PDC. Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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