Michael Smith interview: Premier League Darts ambitions, Ally Pally reflections, Gerwyn Price and rising stars

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This time last year, Michael Smith headed into the Unibet Premier League Darts season as an 80/1 rank outsider for glory and third favourite to be relegated at Judgement Night.

Bully Boy himself admitted he was as shocked as anyone to even be in the line-up having "not done anything" in 2017 but he grabbed his chance with both hands by finishing second in the regular season before beating his mentor Gary Anderson in the semi-finals.

It was no disgrace to finish runner-up to Michael van Gerwen, who posted a scintillating average of 112.37 (the second highest in a TV final ever), and he used the confidence he gained from such a superb campaign to reach four more televised finals in a standout 2018, including the biggest of all at the World Championship.

Of course he lost that battle - again to MVG - along with three others but the manner of his performances and impressive statistics throughout the season have led many to now rate him as perhaps the unofficial third best player in the world despite his Order of Merit ranking currently being sixth.

Indeed, he heads into this weekend's Masters as joint 8/1 second favourite alongside Rob Cross - albeit due to the absence of Gary Anderson - while he's third on his own behind the 'big two' at just 7/1 for Premier League glory.

But that's not good enough for the 28-year-old from St Helens, who faces a rematch against Michael van Gerwen in his opening Premier League Darts clash in Newcastle next Thursday: "I don't want to be second best, I want to be 'the best'. Last year it wasn't great getting beat in finals but from never having reached any before in my career on television to making five of them is definitely a step in the right direction.

"I've now got a lot more experience of playing in finals - and I did win one in Shanghai - but this year if I keep doing the same hard work and reach that many finals, I'll be better prepared for next time.

"The bookies took a spanking on me last year! I know some people who backed me at 80/1 each-way for the Premier League last year and others even backed me each-way to win the worlds halfway through the Premier League when I was still 80/1 for that too! The bookies are learning a bit now. I was third favourite to be relegated last year and finished second, now I'm third favourite to win it so I could finish second bottom - so hopefully it won't be a reversal!

"I just want to go in focused and know what I can do. The first game is going to be tough against Michael but I'm going to have to play him twice anyway so hopefully I can pick a few points off him."

As far as the Premier League line-up is concerned, Smith added: "There's a few players gutted because they missed out and others chuffed that they got in. It was the same as me last year because I was more shocked than anyone that I got in because I hadn't done anything in 2017 and lost a lot of first-round matches on TV. That's how some people might feel now.

"Raymond van Barneveld said he was retiring at the right time, didn't he? If he wasn't retiring then he wouldn't be in the Premier League.

"The line-up still looks tough but I'm starting believe in myself a lot more now. In the past I thought players will be chuffed to be up against me but now I'm thinking they don't want to play me."

Gerwyn paying the Price

One player who'll be under the microscope during the Premier League season especially is Gerwyn Price following his £21,500 fine and three-month suspended sentence for his behaviour during last season's Grand Slam of Darts, particularly the final against Gary Anderson.

If the Welshman is found guilty of any breach of Darts Regulatory Authority Rules before July 11th then he'll be suspended from competing in events for three months - and Smith feels this could give players he's previously antagonised extra motivation to fire him up.

Smith said: "He's been punished for it now and he'll have to learn fast because if he doesn't he's going to get himself banned for three months. I think the fine is the highest ever in darts but it wasn't just for the Grand Slam of Darts final. He's had I don't know how many warnings and referrals so it's just been building up.

"I get on well with him but those who don't like him will try and push his buttons because if he does it again before July 11, he'll get banned for three months. He's annoyed them so much, they've now got a chance to get their own back."

Bully Boy also believes players are beginning to learn to cope with Price a lot better than he thinks Anderson did during that unforgettable final in Wolverhampton, but accepts it's still easy to get drawn in by the former rugby union player's oche histrionics.

Smith defeated him last November in the last four of the World Series of Darts Finals, where he'd miss match darts against James Wade for the title, but not before allowing his opponent back into the game in almost the same way the Flying Scotsman did later that month.

He said: "Gerwyn is clever in getting you involved in the shouting. He got me involved in it during the World Series of Darts semi-finals. I was cruising at 9-5 when he started to give it large so I gave it back and it ended up getting close at 10-8 before I hit a 126 checkout to win.

"You've got to learn - and people are learning - when to shut up.

"Let's be honest if Gary Anderson hadn't got involved against Price in that Grand Slam of Darts final, he would have won. He got involved, annoyed and started launching his darts. I told him it wasn't Price's fault - he did what he had to do to win. It was his fault for falling into his trap instead of just concentrating. He didn't accept that though!

"Even though he's been fined twenty-odd grand and he's had all these warnings, he's going to retire as a Grand Slam of Darts champion. Nobody can take it off him."

Respect on the oche

During the recent World Championship, there were other examples to suggest that 'over celebrating' is becoming a growing trend in the game - not least James Wade's disgraceful behaviour against Seigo Asada.

Smith doesn't think there's anything wrong with celebrating at the very big moments but welcomes the new DRA ruling which gives referees the power to deduct legs for persistent over reactions which are deemed to put the opponent off.

The former World Youth champion said: "It's OK to celebrate but you don't need to do it every single shot or scores of 80! I'm not being funny but when I'm practicing five-six hours a day, hitting a 180 can get kinda boring. But you see Gerwyn celebrating a ton!

"For Gerwyn he still thinks he's playing rugby because that's what they do - they'll give it large after a good tackle and I think that's coming through in his darts.

"There's a new ruling now where the referee can deduct legs for over celebrating. Looking at Wade against Asada, that didn't need to be done either - screaming into someone's face - and you hear commentators like Wayne Mardle saying it's becoming part of the game.

"It's not quite cheating but it's on the verge of doing what Peter Manley used to. He was a master of gamesmanship and that's what players are trying to do - whether it's slowing you down or doing the celebrating just as you're about to throw.

"Gerwyn tried to do that against Krzysztof Ratajski at the Players Championship Finals but he laughed it off and hit his double straight away!

"I don't celebrate much although I know the times when it's right to do it such as an important checkout. When I played Nathan Aspinall and I took out 96 for a 12-darter to go 3-2 up in sets I gave it large but we were going off the stage. It wouldn't have put him off but I did want him to know how much I knew that would have been a kick in the balls for him."

Ally Pally reflections

Although Smith heads into the new season on the back of reaching his first World Championship final, he concedes the feeling of overall accomplishment is still to outweigh the disappointment of his defeat to MVG.

He said: "It's not sunk in yet because the runners-up trophy is still in the cabinet in the living room and I just can't look at it. I get depressed when I do.

"I knew I'd saved my worst game for the final and missed some key chances in some of the sets - but fair play to Michael as he took his.

"The worst thing was in that final, the trophy was by the side of us on the stage. It's the only time you see the trophy and all I kept thinking about was bringing it home. I think I was trying too much."

Smith is the first to admit his route to the final was 'easier' on paper but in what was a tournament of shocks, he still had to produce averages of well over 100 to see off two of the surprise packages at Alexandra Palace.

He said: Michael had a tougher draw than I did because I think I only played two seeds in the whole tournament - John Henderson and Michael in the final. But that wasn't my fault and it just showed just what the other guys like Luke Humphries and Nathan Aspinall are capable of and I can only beat what's in front of me.

"Every time I won a game, another big name would go out and I knew it was my big opportunity, so I knew I had to focus and keep my head down.

"I beat Luke Humphries 5-1 but it wasn't a 5-1 match because there were sets when he took me close. It was the same with Nathan Aspinall - I cruised to 2-0 up and won the first seven legs but he came back into it. When I watched it back I think the moment I 'won it' was that 96 checkout to go 3-2 up in sets.

"That summed up my strength in the tournament of hitting the key shots. When I was missing doubles and lost daft legs, I'd come back strong in the next."

Closing the gap

Van Gerwen may well be standing ominously at the very top of the darting world right now but before the World Championship, there were no shortage of critics suggesting his dominance was on the wane despite him winning 19 titles throughout the calendar year.

Although three of those were the Masters, Premier League and World Grand Prix, he'd failed to triumph in a number of televised events such as the UK Open Finals, World Matchplay, Champions League of Darts, Grand Slam of Darts, European Championship, World Series of Darts Finals and the Players Championship Finals.

But Smith thinks it'll be a tall order for the world's best players to keep all those trophies out of MVG's hands this year.

He said: "The gap is closing but Michael looked like he was off a bit as well. He wasn't as consistent as he was a couple of years back when he was winning nearly every single TV title.

"I think he may have taken 2018 too lightly and took the foot of the practice routines but I guarantee he won't be doing that again this year - he'll be putting all his hard work in.

"He wants to win the titles he lost last year so it's up to the rest of us to make his life difficult."

Honeymoon period

Away from the oche, Smith didn't have much time at all to stew on his defeat to MVG at the Ally Pally.

He got married to his wife Dagmara just days later before jetting off for their honeymoon with their four-year-old son Junior in tow. And only one of them would be practicing their darts.

He said: "It was nice to get away for the honeymoon and not think about it at all. I was in the Dominican Republic where I got recognised twice in 10 days which was great as it allowed me to chill out and enjoy myself with the family.

"We tried to play but I just wanted to sit on the sunlounger and he kept beating me up! We tried putting his dart board on the doors but they were 12 foot high for some reason so we had to put it on the couch next to the pool instead and that's where he practice.

"He said he's hit 180s before but I'd never seen it - only his mum! Then he hit two of them in 15 darts! I was trying to push him away from the game but now I've seen what he's like and how keen he is, I'm trying to help him."

Rising stars

However, he has no intention of forcing his son into a career in darts later down the line and feels the very early starters in the sport run the risk of burnout before the reach adulthood.

Smith, who started darts at the age of 15 after a broken hip a year earlier stopped him playing rugby league, said: "Now there's 15 year-olds beating older pros up so you can see there's a lot players starting earlier and earlier. I've been playing for 13 years now so if Junior can get to where I am when he's about 16 it'd be nice to see but hopefully he'll be better!

"I saw Leighton Bennett's 121 checkout to win the BDO youth title and that he even got some stick for his celebrations! You can't give him stick, the lad has just won his first world youth title and it's the biggest achievement of his life so far.

"There's an 11-year-old kid near where I live who's meant to be the next best thing and has won some of the men's tournaments - when I'm not there of course! But you have to let kids be kids and not force them to achieve so much too soon.

"Because there's another example of another 11-year-old who was mint but by the time he was 13 he'd got dartitis because he'd got pushed too much. I want my Junior to be a kit more than anything and will never push him to do anything he doesn't want to do. That's why he does lots of other activities like gymnastics and swimming."

Mastermind

The first event of the new season is the Masters, featuring just the world's top 16 players, but Smith isn't putting himself under any pressure to impress.

He said: "I hadn't chucked a dart from the moment I lost the final to when we flew home from my honeymoon on January 23. So the past few days have been pretty heavy practice but the break seems to have helped.

"I've never thought of the Masters as a big tournament. I'm treating it mainly as a practice for the Premier League. Don't get me wrong, I'll be trying my hardest to win it but by treating it as a practice session will mean I'm not putting too much pressure on myself.

"As I'm not in Michael's half of the draw it's be easy to think 'I've just reached the World Championship final so I need to reach this final' so that's why the emphasis is on practice."

• The BetVictor Masters takes place in Milton Keynes from February 1-3 while the Unibet Premier League Darts season begins on Thursday February 7 in Newcastle.

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