Smith is chasing Van den Bergh in Down Under: ‘I want to go to Amsterdam as number one’
Michael Smith has left for ‘Down Under’ with a clear purpose. In Australia and New Zealand, ‘Bullyboy’ is one of eight PDC delegates to the three World Series tournaments.
Smith is currently the runner-up on the World Series Order of Merit. The Englishman would like to take over first place from Dimitri van den Bergh, who has been added to the line-up due to the cancellation of Peter Wright.
“If I don’t come back with a title it would be a disappointment,” Smith told the PDC. “I want to win at least one tournament and go to the World Series Finals in Amsterdam as number one.”
The year 2022 has been a pretty successful year for Smith so far. He won three Players Championship tournaments, one Euro Tour and the US Darts Masters in New York. On the other hand, he made the finals of the World Darts Championship and the UK Open. the former youth world champion still has to wait for his first major title.
“I’m done with not performing to the best of my ability. I no longer play for myself, I play for the future of my children. That’s why I’m frustrated when I lose.”
Smith became the winner of the US Darts Masters in June, when the event was played at New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden.
”That was unreal. As a species, I watched television and saw pop stars and comedians perform there and I never thought I’d ever play there myself. I didn’t want to lose my first one there. After that it became my goal to be the first darter to win a tournament there. Fortunately, that dream came true.”