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 Gerwin 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 Gerwe 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 Gerwin have followed similar trajectories since they first did battle on the youth tour as teenagers but with one key difference: Van Geren 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 Gerwe 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.
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