In a memorable final against the then-blooded Michael van Gerwen, Smith eventually won the final 7-4. Van Gerwen was throwing a 104.63 average throughout the tournament, but in the final he failed to punch through. The match featured the most legendary leg ever in darts. Van Gerwen had 144 left after six arrows.
He threw triple 20 twice but missed double 12 for the magical nine-darter. Smith had also started with six perfect arrows and had 141 left. Triple 20, triple 19 and double 12 all went out and he completed the finish.
Smith aims to retain title in bad year
Smith was also in the final a year earlier in 2022 but was beaten by Peter Wright. Never discount Wright, but this has not been the Scot's year. He did win the European Championship out of nowhere but has otherwise shown little. Smith is still the number one and is thus eminently a player to be reckoned with and a contender for the title. Yet Bully Boy is not in the best of form either.
After last year's World Championship, Smith won the Bahrain Darts Masters by beating Gerwyn Price 8-6 in the final. He won his next title at the fourth Euro tour. In the final against Nathan Aspinall, he was far too strong, winning 8-5 and averaging over 102.
Two months later he won his last tournament this year and in June he won the thirteenth Players Championship by beating Gary Anderson 8-7. But the titles that really matter, the majors, were not happy days for the reigning world champion. He lost 11-7 to Chris Dobey in the semi-finals at the Masters. Dobey would win the tournament.
At the UK Open, he lost 10-9 to Luke Humphries in the last 16. In the Premier League, he lost 10-8 to Van Gerwen in the semi-final. Dobey was again too strong at the World Matchplay in the second round, again 11-7. In the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix, he lost 4-2 in sets to Price in the semi-final. At the European Championship, he lost the second round to Wright and in the last major before the World Championship, the Players Championship Finals, he lost 6-3 in the first round to Richard Veenstra.
Van Gerwen yearns for fourth world title
Smith's opponent from last year, Van Gerwen, will crave another world title. The Dutchman has grabbed three in total. In 2014, he was the youngest player ever to win the title. Van Gerwen also triumphed in 2017 and in 2019. So it has been four years since he took the big trophy. Van Gerwen made it to three major finals this year. He won one and that was also the biggest. In the Premier League final, he was too strong for Price, 11-5.
Whereas Van Gerwen was still grandiose in that period, his form weakened a bit. He surprisingly lost the final of the UK Open to Andrew Gilding 11-10 (where he missed three match darts) and he lost the final of the Players Championship Finals to Luke Humphries 11-9.
Van Gerwen went on to win the Poland Darts Masters, the World Series in Amsterdam, US Darts Masters, one Euro tour and one floor tournament. It was not a bad year, but the year before, the wrecking ball from Vlijmen won four majors. That was an exceptional performance, though. Van Gerwen is behind Humphries in the bookies as the biggest contender for the title.
Humphries the favourite?
That the Englishman is ranked highest is no surprise if you go off his last performances. Winning the really big matches has been lacking for Cool Hand Luke. But since he won the World Grand Prix, his first major, he seems to be all over the place. Humphries won three of the last four majors. In the World Grand Prix, he beat Gerwyn Price 5-2 in sets. He won the Grand Slam by beating Rob Cross 16-8 in the final and in the Players Championship Finals, he beat Van Gerwen. At the European Championships, James Wade was too strong 10-6 in the quarter-finals.
At the World Grand Prix, he threw over 93 average (which is high because you have to open with a double) and in the other finals he threw over 100 average. With the form of recent weeks, he seems the favourite for the big tournament, but the World Championship remains a tournament in itself. Humphries never got beyond the quarter-finals at Ally Pally.
Price wants to win first in front of crowd
Price has had a strange year. It started dramatically. After a debacle last year at the World Championship, in which he lost 5-1 to Gabriel Clemens, he had the crowd full against him. He put on headphones in that match, which turned the crowd against him. Weeks after the World Championship, he played dramatically and hinted he was done with it. The second day of the Premier League, the one in his home city of Cardiff, changed everything.
He won that night, won the crowd for him again and managed to win games again with convincing averages over 100. He ended up winning four floor tournaments and two Euro tours. Although Price pitched well, he has let it slip in the major this year.
He reached the final of the Premier League and the final of the World Grand Prix and was stranded in the quarterfinals of the European Championship. Price is currently the world number five, but is still seen as one of the favourites. Van Gerwen also often calls him his biggest challenger, although that might currently be Humphries. Price won the World Championship in 2021, but did so in an empty Ally Pally because of COVID-19.
Underdogs
Surprising names ranked high by the bookies are Luke Littler and Gian van Veen. Littler, only 16, won the youth World Championship final over Van Veen 6-4. He is currently considered one of the biggest talents in the darts world and is making his first appearance at the World Championship. The same goes for Van Veen. Both youngsters will want to aim high, but at a World Championship, there are many things involved. The atmosphere is bigger, the pressure is greater and the matches are longer. Making a prediction is difficult because, in terms of strengths, it looks like it might be one of the most exciting World Championships ever.
