PDC Summer Series: Michael Smith on new playing conditions, marking matches and prize money pressures

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Michael Smith is preparing for a "weird" experience when he gets back on the oche at the PDC Summer Series in Milton Keynes, where the conditions have given him an extra motivation to win his matches.

The world number five is, like every other professional, excited to finally resume his pursuit of prize money after almost four months since the last ranking tournament, but he does also admit to being apprehensive about the pandemic-enforced safety regulations that they all must adhere to.

Usually players will sit at tables with their closest peers on the circuit during the long Players Championship days and be free to practice with whoever they like, whereas the new social distancing rules means everyone will be assigned tables depending on which of the 32 match boards the draw sends them too.

That may seem trivial at first but, as Smith points out, being around the players you get along with most has a positive impact on your state of mind and helps calm the nerves. He's therefore concerned that spending time with those he doesn't know - or even dislike - can have the opposite effect.

But the one major change Bully Boy is most uncomfortable about is having to mark matches if he loses in the early rounds.

In a bid to keep numbers down at the venue, there will only be a minimal number of markers to chalk matches on the streamed boards, meaning players who get knocked out will have to referee games on the away from the camera.

Smith told Sporting Life Darts: "We haven’t had to do this for about seven years on Tour but they had to cut back on markers and referees to keep numbers down inside the venue.

"If you can win your board and get to the quarter-finals then you won’t need to mark by that stage of the tournament as the streaming boards have markers. Otherwise you’ll get the piss taken out of you as you stand there and mark the match of the guy who’s just beat you!

"Michael van Gerwen won’t be bothered about marking because he probably thinks he’ll win all his games and not have to do it. The only saving grace you have is that the only people who will be able to see you mark are the players in your bubble who you’ve been drawn with to play on your board that day.

"I’d usually sit with Gary Anderson, Ian White, Adrian Lewis and James Wade but because we’re all seeded, we’ll be on different boards and tables, which we have to stick to. I won’t be seeing them for five days properly unless I play them in the latter stages by winning our boards.

"It’s a shame because like in any sport, you always have certain friends to have a laugh with more than others. It helps you relax and takes your mind off things.

"If I’m with seven other players I don’t know or even dislike, then I’ll probably resort to more time on the practice boards before my first match. My brain will be overworked because I’ve not had a break, not had a laugh or spoke about fishing – which is all you get from Gary or Ian!

"I tend to keep myself to myself rather than try to make new friends. Because at the end of the day, they want your money! Even though I like the players on my usual table, I still don’t want them beating me."

The St Helens star, who hit his first televised nine-dart finish earlier this season, admits it might take a while for everyone to get used playing with an opponent standing in front of them again following all the months of online match practice.

He added: "I’m itching and excited to get started but I’m also nervous. I’ve been in my games room for four months playing online so to have someone stood in front of me again is going to be weird at first. It might feel like starting out again in the big boys league after coming through Q School!

"Obviously it’s not going to be completely back to normal due to all the social distancing rules and having to wait until your opponent goes past a certain line before you can throw again."

Indeed, having to stay one metre apart at all times during matches and having to wait for your opponent to be the necessary distance away before you through could affect the faster throwing players like Smith.

And it's just a number of other reasons why he doesn't subscribe to the theory that performances and averages will be off the charts in the opening few days.

He said: "I’ve seen people predicting that players will be bashing in these 100+ averages but I don’t think that will happen at the start.

"I think you’ll actually see a lot of low averages on that first day – everyone is going to be nervous after four months out of ‘proper’ darts. Some of the people averaging over 100 in the online leagues were only getting in the 80s before lockdown so it’s a different game.

"Even van Gerwen is going to be nervous because he’s not used to it either. By day three, players will get used to it and then we’ll see the averages pick up."

Last year's World Matchplay runner-up also believes the general standard performances might also be adversely affected by the pressure on many players to qualify for the second biggest major in darts.

Smith is obviously guaranteed to be a seed when 32 players return to the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes later this month - rather than the iconic Winter Gardens in Blackpool - due to his lofty standing in the PDC Order of Merit but when you look at the overall qualification picture, there's still as many as 10 spots up for grabs and feasibly as many as 60 players fighting for them (Click here for full breakdown and possible scenarios in our Summer Series guide).

It was made worse for some players when the PDC and PDPA decided to remove all ranking money off the 12 month ProTour Order of Merit that was won in 2019 between March and July.

The 29-year-old said: "I was speaking to Chris Dobey and he’s really annoyed about the ranking situation. He was in a great place to qualify for the World Matchplay but after all the money came off over the past few months, he’s now about £8,000 behind with five days to do something about it.

"Even if he wins his board every day, that’ll be about £7,000 in total so he’ll need to go a lot further in a couple of tournaments now to stand a chance. The pressure to win those early matches isn’t going to make it any easier for Chris and the others trying to qualify. And that’s another reason why I don’t think the standard will be that high.

"I’m OK because I’m sorted but many others will be constantly checking their phone looking at results on Dart Connect to see who’s catching them and how much money they need to win because of it.

"Nobody will be concentrating properly on preparing for their matches and when it is their game, they’ll be more pressure on it.

"I hope I get drawn against these kind of players every day because I know their minds won’t be on it and will be distracted.

"My mindset is “I’m going back to work to start earning again.” I’m not chasing anything. Obviously I want to win all five tournaments but I’m realistic and just happy to be back at work finally."

Smith might be in a financially secure position, but understands it's not the same scenario for many other players on the circuit.

Bully Boy, who has reached four other major finals including this season's Masters, the 2019 World Championship, 2018 Premier League and 2018 World Series of Darts Finals, said: "Some of the players will be desperate for money to pay the rent and the bills.

"When you’re outside the world’s top 32, you don’t actually earn a great deal of money. On the Order of Merit, 32nd spot is about £150,000 but that’s based on two years. It’s top heavy in all sports but that’s not our fault. We’ve put the hard work in to get into these positions.

"I know it sounds bad me saying that and I know I’ve had a few lucky breaks but what’s stopping someone who is 50th doing the same? Ryan Searle, for instance, won a Pro Tour event earlier this year and that will help him shoot up the rankings and qualify for more.

"He’s not in the top 32 yet but he’s getting closer and then he’ll have another good crack at the World Championship where all the big money is for your rankings.

"Nathan Aspinall is an even better example. He made £30,000 in 2018 but then reached the World Championship semi-finals, where I beat him, and earned £100,000.

"That shot him into the top 20, then he won the UK Open last year and is in the top 10. Because he’d won just £30,000 in 2018 he’s hardly been defending any money this year so keeps going up and up. It’s the same for Glen Durrant.

"Players like myself are defending big money regularly and this is where the hard work comes in to stay near the top. You find who your stronger players are then."

There will be a grand total of £375,000 to play for over five tournaments, with a top prize of £10,000 to be won each day. Let the games begin...

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