Michael Smith embraced his wife and kids in emotional scenes after his magical World Darts Championship title triumph – but had previously banned them for ‘putting him off’.
‘Bully Boy’ was crowned world champion for the first time on Tuesday night after toppling Michael van Gerwin 7-4 at Ally Pally in a final for the ages.
An inspired Smith won the greatest darts leg ever seen in set three as he nailed an unforgettable nine-darter just after Van Gerwe had agonizingly wired D12 on his own attempt.
And the St Helens star stormed to his maiden Sid Waddell trophy and a £500,000 cheque with stunning scoring and clinical finishing to stun heavy Favorite Van Geren in North.
A fitting celebration saw family man Smith race over to his wife Dagmara and two young sons as soon as he hit the title-clinching D8.
But Smith’s family were only in attendance for the finest night in his sporting career after he reversed his decision on allowing them to watch him play live.
Superstitious Smith explained he’d banned partner Dagmara and his children from his semi-final clash against Gabriel Clemens because he had lost every time, they had seen him reach the last four.
“They came yesterday, and it put me off,” he told Sky Sports on Monday. “They never come early on in the tournament, so they were banned today. They will be back tomorrow though.”
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