Nine-dart hero Michael Smith upset the odds against Michael van Gerwen in the most outrageous fashion to claim his first PDC Cazoo World Darts Championship title at the Alexandra Palace.
The two-time runner-up, tipped on these pages at 8/1 pre-tournament, lost to MVG in the 2019 final and to Peter Wright 12 months ago but made his intentions emphatically clear early on by winning the greatest leg in darts history when achieving perfection straight after the Dutchman narrowly missed double 12 for the same feat.
THE BEST LEG IN DARTS HISTORY! π€―π€―π€―
β Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) January 3, 2023
MVG MISS DOUBLE 12 FOR A NINE DARTER BUT MICHAEL SMITH MAKES IT! UNREAL SCENES π€―pic.twitter.com/IDYxujSqHx
Bully Boy's head could easily have gone into a spin as the Ally Pally crowd went crazy but he quickly regained his composure and his relentless scoring power to square the match at 1-1.
Smith, whose insane moment of perfection was also tipped up at 12/1 in our final preview, went on to fire 22 of the 37 180s throughout an unforgettable encounter, landed two other 100+ checkouts to go with his 141 and averaged 100.87 compared to his opponent's 99.58 en route to fulfilling his darting destiny with a 7-4 victory.
For many years, darts pundits and fans have unanimously agreed the floodgates would open for the highly talented St Helens star once he finally gets over the line and now those predictions are beginning to ring true.
MICHAEL SMITH IS CHAMPION OF THE WORLD! π
β PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 3, 2023
The man who was born to be World Champion fulfils his destiny, as Michael Smith defeats Michael van Gerwen 7-4 to claim the biggest prize in darts and become world number one!
Dare to dream. pic.twitter.com/36PxPY5W8q
The 32-year-old, who was appearing in his 10th major final but his first since finally breaking his major duck at Novemberβs Grand Slam of Darts, told Sky Sports: "The way I felt when I won will never be topped, no matter what I do in this sport in the future. To be World Champion and world number one is amazing.
"When I won the Grand Slam I said I would eventually become World Champion and world number one.
"I want to do what Michael [van Gerwen] has done, I want to dominate the sport but he's still around! It's now 1-1 between us in World Championship finals, but I don't think it will be the last."
Smith was also highly magnanimous in victory and even suggested he was lucky despite the manner of his performance.
βItβs amazing, but I donβt want to start getting into all the crying and emotions,β Smith added. βMichael let me off a lot there and for once I finally took a chance that I didnβt deserve but I still took it. I want to apologise to Michael, I have been in that position before and I donβt know what to say.β
On his nine-dart finish, he said: βI was hitting 180, 180 in practice and missing so I thought I would give the crowd what they deserve, I got a magical nine and it was good.
π€ An incredible night for Michael Smith was also highly profitable for followers of @ChrisHammer180's darts tips!
β Sporting Life π―π΄πΎβ³οΈπ₯ππ π (@SportingLifeFC) January 3, 2023
π Michael Smith to win the title at 8/1 (pre-tournament)
π A nine-dart finish in the final (12/1)
πͺ 31+ 180s and 4+ 100 checkouts (13/8) pic.twitter.com/RKk4bLtRhA
As well as his heavy scoring, Smith's finishing was also on point too, pinning 47% of his attempts at doubles as MVG spurned 32 of his 50 (38%), but equally as important as the stats was his supreme mental strength and character under such immense pressure.
After moving 2-1 up in sets, he soon found himself 3-2 down when van Gerwen, who was hot favourite for glory having won 10 titles this season including the Premier League, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Players Championship Finals, enjoyed an ominous spell of winning six out of eight legs.
But that was nothing compared to a dominating run that Smith was about to enjoy as he reeled off four sets in succession and only one of those - the seventh - went to a deciding leg. Bully Boy took that with an ice cool 14-darter when the three-time champion was waiting to come back on 58 and from then on, he never really let up.
MICHAEL SMITH. WORLD CHAMPION!! ππ― pic.twitter.com/1kP8X1FSBf
β Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 3, 2023
At 6-3 up, the fourth seed had a golden opportunity to wrap up the title in the deciding leg but he suffered an agonising bounce out midway through it after his first two found the treble 20 and MVG made the most of his reprieve by pulling a set back.
The 11th set also went the distance and Smith even threatened another nine-darter with back-to-back 180s and although his attempt failed on dart seven he went on to achieve his dream.
The result denies van Gerwen a fourth world title and a first since he defeated Bully Boy in 2019 while it was also the first time in the tournament when his averaged dropped below three figures.
"I want to TAKEOVER this sport..." π€©
β Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 3, 2023
Michael Smith REACTS to winning the World Darts Championship final! π pic.twitter.com/kqjiPN7uzb
Van Gerwen, who remains third on the Order of Merit having missed the chance to return to the summit for the first time since a seven-year stay ended in 2021, said: "Michael [Smith] played a phenomenal game, he deserves this win,"
"Of course, I had my chances - I missed too many doubles and when you don't hit them you get punished.
"I didn't play too well in the last few sets but I can only blame myself for that, you have to take it on the chin.
"When you lose games it's hard but it's part of the job. I will be back."
An EMOTIONAL interview from Michael van Gerwen π pic.twitter.com/fiS2psBNdd
β Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 3, 2023
It's been πΌπ©ππ πΈππΌπ΅πΏπΈ!! ππ― pic.twitter.com/56GrbvJz34
β Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 3, 2023
"HE WAS BORN TO WIN IT!!" π€©
β Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 3, 2023
And the NEW World No.1...MICHAEL SMITH π pic.twitter.com/srEiMII3vb
THROWING FOR GLORY!
β PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 3, 2023
MASSIVE MOMENTS AS MICHAEL SMITH BREAKS MvG AND BULLY BOY IS THROWING FOR THE TITLE!#WCDarts | Final
πΊ https://t.co/37DNuuK5Me pic.twitter.com/OzWW4wOtTg
Sky Bet latest odds: Smith obviously remains favourite at 1/4, with MVG now 11/4 after surviving that last leg decider in the 10th set. The 180 battle is over, however, with Smith now 1/100! Click here now for all the Sky Bet live darts markets including most 180s & highest checkout.
Michael van Gerwen PULLS one back!! πͺπ’ pic.twitter.com/ZzFTVH3ynk
β Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 3, 2023
MICHAEL SMITH IS JUST πππ SET AWAY...π₯
β Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 3, 2023
A FOURTH CONSECUTIVE SET!! pic.twitter.com/uq4A8KCAKf
Sky Bet latest odds: Smith is now favourite to win for the first time at 4/9 while Michael van Gerwen is 13/8. Click here now for all the Sky Bet live darts markets including most 180s & highest checkout.
SMITH LEADS 5οΈβ£-3οΈβ£!!
β Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 3, 2023
The most INCREDIBLE final, can MVG comeback? π pic.twitter.com/cXBb6vmNv2
Sky Bet latest odds: Both players are now 5/6 to win the title while Smith is favourite at 1/6 to hit most 180s, with MVG 5/1 and the tie 10/1. Click here now for all the Sky Bet live darts markets including most 180s & highest checkout.
Michael van Gerwen thought the set was over...π¬
β Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 3, 2023
Michael Smith LEADS 4-3! WHAT A GAME!! pic.twitter.com/Pw46p3N4g8
THAT IS OUTRAGEOUS! π€©π₯
β PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 3, 2023
OH. MY. WORD.
That set seemed done and dusted but a huge 130 finish takes it to a deciding leg and Smith has the darts!#WCDarts | Final
πΊ https://t.co/37DNuuK5Me pic.twitter.com/jNoc4bvjFb
Sky Bet latest odds: MVG is hot favourite again at 1/6 while Bully Boy is back out to 7/2 despite playing to such a high level. As for the 180s market, Smith is favourite at 1/8, with MVG 6/1 and the tie 12/1. Click here now for all the Sky Bet live darts markets including most 180s & highest checkout.
VAN GERWEN BACK IN FRONT! π³π±
β PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 3, 2023
It's advantage Van Gerwen once again at Ally Pally, as the Dutchman fires in a 14-darter to win leg five against the throw!
Can Smith respond?#WCDarts | Final
πΊ https://t.co/37DNuuK5Me pic.twitter.com/FbAwn7esAI
Sky Bet latest odds: Click here now for all the Sky Bet live darts markets including most 180s & highest checkout.
DOUBLE DOUBLE! π₯
β PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 3, 2023
Sensational response from Van Gerwen, who defies two 180s in the leg from Smith to complete a stunning 90 finish with two D18s!
This is darts from another planet! π₯ pic.twitter.com/eLVwFURwzu
SMITH LEADS! πͺ
β PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 3, 2023
What a match this is! π₯
Smith wires the bull for a spectacular 170 checkout to wrap up the third set, but he returns to pin D10 and move 2-1 ahead in this final!#WCDarts | Final
πΊ https://t.co/37DNuuK5Me pic.twitter.com/uxeQrr0Skn
"I CAN'T SPEAK! I CAN'T SPEAK!" π³
β Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 3, 2023
THAT reaction for the COMMENTARY BOX!! π pic.twitter.com/OSderR7axb
WHAT A REACTION FROM ALLY PALLY!! βοΈ #9darter #LoveTheDarts pic.twitter.com/uXAxzXuvos
β Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 3, 2023
THE BEST LEG IN DARTS HISTORY! π€―π€―π€―
β Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) January 3, 2023
MVG MISS DOUBLE 12 FOR A NINE DARTER BUT MICHAEL SMITH MAKES IT! UNREAL SCENES π€―pic.twitter.com/IDYxujSqHx
Sky Bet latest odds: MVG is now 1/6 favourite for glory while Michael Smith has now drifted slightly to 7/2 but it is early days. As for the 180s battle, Smith remains favourite at 1/2, with MVG 7/4 and the tie 10/1. Click here now for all the Sky Bet live darts markets including most 180s & highest checkout.
Michael van Gerwen takes the FIRST set! π’π― pic.twitter.com/QYjm7YAJDL
β Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 3, 2023
2025: The players are now making their way to the oche so the action is finally about to begin!
96 came, just two remain.
β PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 3, 2023
Glory awaits either Michael Smith or Michael van Gerwen... π pic.twitter.com/mFHwbphdn1
2000: Right, the players will be out on the oche in about 25 minutes, so you've got plenty of time to have a read of Paul Nicholson's highlights of the season - or watch the short video I recorded with him at the Ally Pally. There really are some cracking moments in there...
"Do it! Do it now!"
β Sporting Life π―π΄πΎβ³οΈπ₯ππ π (@SportingLifeFC) December 31, 2022
π€― Paul @TheAsset180 Nicholson picks out his top three moments of the darting year, including the time he commentated on Simon Whitlock's BULL-BULL-BULL 150 checkout!
π There's also an honourable mention for a certain Mensur Suljovic... pic.twitter.com/ir7WEoQuos
1955: Before the final gets under way at around 2025 GMT, here are my two best bets for the night and scoreline prediction, which I wrote about extensively with stats in my pre-match preview. However, although I'm tentatively going for van Gerwen tonight, I am pinning my hopes on Smith, who I backed at 8/1 in my pre-tournament preview. As much as I don't want to be regarded as a deserter, it's impossible not to be impressed and wary of the mind-boggling standard produced by MVG.
1950: Just so you don't have to do any number crunching from their route to the final stats below, I've done it for you. Once again, Michael Smith's figures are on the left of each category...
Michael van Gerwen's statistics are quite simply sensational and he's producing the kind of consistency from his dominating pre-Covid era when he made 100 averages look so easy. The dodgy performances that were creeping in too frequently in 2020 and 2021 are becoming rarer and rarer so I don't think he's 'due' a bad one any time soon!
He's now averaged over 100 in 12 of his last 16 matches since losing to Chris Dobey at the European Championship back in October - including all five at the World Championship - and is overall average in that run is well over 103.
As for Michael Smith, well he's managed a couple of 100+ averages against Joe Cullen and Gabriel Clemens thanks to finding his breathtaking 180 range in both contests and he's got to be at that level again tonight. He can't afford the lulls in standard that we saw from him against Martin Schindler and Stephen Bunting.
1945: Meanwhile, Michael van Gerwen's run to the Alexandra Palace final has been almost as destructive as you can get.
The only player to give him a little scare was Mensur Suljovic despite posting a massive averaging 107.66! In truth, it wasn't actually that close, with Suljovic's 161 memorable checkout that clinched the fifth set 3-2 merely delaying the inevitable as MVG swiftly bounced back to wrap up the sixth 3-1.
π€ Dart players and fans, where do you stand on turning down the bullseye when your opponent is on a big finish?
β Sporting Life π―π΄πΎβ³οΈπ₯ππ π (@SportingLifeFC) January 1, 2023
π₯ Paul @TheAsset180 Nicholson sheds some fascinating insight on the topic in light of 'that' 161 checkout from Mensur Suljovic against Michael van Gerwen. pic.twitter.com/KxU2jOPbmP
Apart from that it's just been one-way traffic without any hiccups and he's now won 13 sets on the bounce since Dirk van Duijvenbode managed one in his 4-1 victory over his fellow Dutchman. Against Dimitri Van den Bergh he won 15 of 17 legs after the Belgian's 170 checkout put him 2-1 up in the opening set and went on to average over 108.
"I LOVE winning!"
β Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 3, 2023
Michael van Gerwen's route to the final...πΊοΈπ’ pic.twitter.com/fVd7C8TXPC
1940: So how did both players get this far? Let's start with Michael Smith...
When Michael Smith has been good - he's been very good. Particularly against Joe Cullen and Gabriel Clemens when he produced relentless high-scoring, a barrage of 180s and fairly clinical finishing.
When it's not being going his way against Martin Schindler and Stephen Bunting, he's possessed the necessary fighting spirit and mental strength that he lacked in previous years to drag himself over the line
He will need every ounce of that spirit again - as well as his A-game quality to keep the pressure on MVG.
"I'm not scared of Michael van Gerwen!"
β Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 3, 2023
Michael Smith's route to the final...ππ― pic.twitter.com/HZ4dbUaF4d
1930: Time now to take a look at their head-to-head record, which has been bossed by Michael van Gerwen overall since their rivalry started in the youth ranks way back in 2011 but has been much closer in recent times.
Since 2020, MVG only leads 7-6 and pretty much all of those 13 matches in all competitions have been very close. In fact, Michael Smith won 80 legs compared to MVG's 79 in that run of games.
As you can see from the above scorelines from 2020, there's hardly anything in it. Smith finally opened his account against MVG at the sixth time of asking but then won the next two, including the final of the US Darts Masters.
πΊπΈπ Michael Smith is the US Darts Masters champion after defeating Michael van Gerwen 8-4 at Madison Square Garden!pic.twitter.com/PtZ6su6rsk
β Sporting Life π―π΄πΎβ³οΈπ₯ππ π (@SportingLifeFC) June 5, 2022
1920: So just how do these two stars compare when it comes to their respective title collections?
Michael Smith has won plenty of tournaments away from the TV cameras, such as five on the European Tour stages in front of crowds, but this year he finally broke his major duck with the Grand Slam of Darts and also added a third TV title to his resume at the US Darts Masters, where he beat Michael van Gerwen in the final.
Fantastic to see Michael Smith finally get the major his career richly deserved!
β Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) November 20, 2022
Great scenes between him and Nathan Aspinall at the end πpic.twitter.com/7smxkWjz8R
As for MVG, there's nothing he hasn't won. The only major he's won less than three times is the Champions League - and that was only staged four times - while as we've already mentioned, he added four more to his tally in 2022!
A truly astonishing comeback from Michael van Gerwen. Twice he was four legs down when he couldn't buy a double but then wins 13 of the last 18 legs to win his third World Matchplay.pic.twitter.com/lJGUGNUr2i
β Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) July 24, 2022
1915: This tournament has pretty much had everything. There's been over 850 maximums, six 170 checkouts - including one apiece from tonight's finalists - upsets, dream runs, sudden death drama and bullseye rejection madness!
Michael van Gerwen "You might be averaging over 100 but you can't take out 161"
β Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) December 28, 2022
Mensur Suljovic...pic.twitter.com/4HhRs53ubK
One thing we haven't yet seen, however, is a nine-dart finish so surely that can change tonight? You can get 12/1 on either player managing it tonight with Sky Bet, 16/1 on it being MVG, 25/1 for it to be Smith and 100/1 that they both do it.
Remember, van Gerwen did manage a nine-darter in his last major final at the Players Championship Finals.
Michael van Gerwen's EIGHTH televised nine-darter, his fourth in Minehead and second against Rob Cross!pic.twitter.com/12ojZIcvhl
β Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) November 27, 2022
To get your in the mood for the potential of perfect legs, you can click here to watch every nine-darter in World Championship history.
1905: As well as the final, there's also been a lot of talk about who will make the Premier League Darts line-up and it's fair to say there's lots of contenders bidding for the eight spots available. You can read what our columnist Paul Nicholson had to say about it by clicking here or watch the video of us chatting about it at the Ally Pally below.
Who will make the Premier League Darts line-up then? Had a good chat with Paul @TheAsset180 Nicholson about it and whether there should be any format changes to get more players in it... pic.twitter.com/QqPJf14Ltg
β Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) January 3, 2023
1900: Good evening and welcome to our live blog of the PDC's Cazoo World Darts Championship final, where Michael van Gerwen is favourite to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy for the fourth time in his illustrious career but the first since he defeated Michael Smith in the 2019 edition.
Bully Boy is standing in his way once again as he attempts to make it third time lucky on the biggest stage of all having also finished runner-up to Peter Wright 12 months ago when his record-equalling barrage of 24 180s couldn't prevent him losing 7-5.
However, unlike the previous occasions, Smith can finally goes into a final as a major winner thanks to his long awaited breakthrough moment at November's Grand Slam of Darts so there can be no doubting his self-belief.
The St Helens star will need to reproduce his renowned scoring power that we saw against Joe Cullen and Gabriel Clemens in the previous rounds - and then some - just to get close to a rampant MVG, who has averaged well over 100 in all five of his games so far and remarkably only dropped three sets.
Unless, of course, we see a rare off day from the Dutchman at the worst possible time.
That's not very likely, mind, considering he's won titles than anyone else this season with 10 including the Premier League, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Players Championship Finals.
There's no denying that it really is a fitting final between the two best players in the tournament and whoever comes out on top will also be crowned as the new world number one.
The final begins at around 2015 GMT so between now and then we'll run through the routes to the final, tournament statistics, head-to-head records and some predictions.
But before we get into the present, here is quick look at the previous finals in the tournament history.
Final scores in sets