Vice World Champion Michael Smith stops his series of defeats in major finals and wins the first major title at the Grand Slam of Darts. The “Bully Boy” prevails against his English compatriot Nathan Aspinall, Smith had previously lost eight major finals.
At the moment of his greatest darts triumph, all-time runner-up Michael Smith was joking. “I’m actually only used to giving the speech as a loser in the final,” said the 32-year-old Englishman after the final of the Grand Slam of Darts, which Smith won 16-5 against compatriot Nathan Aspinall late on Sunday evening. Smith, who came second at the 2019 and 2022 World Championships, at World Matchplay 2019 and at this year’s European Championships, eliminated Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld in the semifinals (16:12). Two-time World Cup semi-finalist Aspinall beat England’s Luke Humphries (16-12).
At the ninth attempt, the “Bully Boy”, as Smith is called, won his first major title and thus underlined his role as one of the favorites for the World Cup in London in Wolverhampton. “Nobody can take that away from me. It takes a lot of pressure off my shoulders,” said Smith. In the one-sided endgame, Smith got seven breaks against his overwhelmed opponent Aspinall. In addition to the Eric Bristow Trophy, the 32-year-old won prize money of £150,000 (around €170,000).
After all the drama on the board, finally relief: “I’ll enjoy that until Tuesday,” admitted Smith, who is number four in the world behind Gerwyn Price from Wales, Scotland’s Peter Wright and Michael van Gerwen from the Netherlands. “Now I have this big title so let’s see how it goes,” added Smith. Martin Schindler was the only German participant eliminated after the group stage with one win and two defeats. But the highlight of the year is just around the corner: The World Cup begins on December 15th. In addition to Schindler, Gabriel Clemens and Florian Hempel will be there.
(This article was first published on Monday, November 21, 2022.)