World darts results: Defending champion Michael Smith survives second-round scare against Kevin Doets at the Ally Pally

By Sporting Life

Darts

Sat December 16, 2023 · 1y ago

Michael Smith avoided a shock early exit at the Paddy Power World Darts Championship as he came through a five-set thriller with Kevin Doets at the Ally Pally.

Bully Boy's Dutch opponent had earlier opened the tournament with a 180 en route to a 3-0 victory over Stowe Buntz and maintained his momentum with a stunning display to threaten a huge upset.

Despite losing the opening set 3-1, Doets bounced back in the next two with a barrage of maximums and took them both by 3-2 scorelines to leave Smith in real danger of becoming the first defending champion since John Part to fall at the first hurdle.

But the St Helens ace showed his class by finding another gear and dropped just one leg in each of the final two sets to seal his victory - albeit after missing five missed match darts at 2-0 up.

RELIEF FOR BULLY BOY!

Michael Smith battles back from 2-1 down to beat Kevin Doets 3-2!

Listen to that roar from the reigning champ after the winning dart!

📺 https://t.co/f3RU9WTIoD #WCDarts | R2 pic.twitter.com/ZtnfQyqnZU
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 15, 2023

Smith, who will now return to the oche after Christmas, averaged 100.1 compared to Doets' 99.5 and although he was outgunned 9-5 on the 180s count, he fired in three 100+ checkouts in a crowd-pleasing end to the night.

“I feel good. It’s a game that I needed,” insisted Smith. "It was nice to show that I’ve still got the fight and I still know how to battle back, and I think in the last seven or eight legs I played really well.

“I kept my focus and I hit a couple of key shots at the right time. That’s what I’ve been doing in practice, and this result has given me a big confidence boost.”

Great shift for Menzies

Earlier in the night, Cameron Menzies moved through to a second round showdown against 2021 semi-finalist Dave Chisnall with an impressive straight-sets success against Rusty-Jake Rodriguez.

Menzies – who prepared for his opening round clash with a plumbing shift this morning – converted seven of his first nine attempts at a double to race into a two-set lead against a frustrated Rodriguez.

The Austrian youngster looked poised to halve the deficit in set three, although he paid a heavy price for missing four darts to seal the set, as Menzies capitalised to wrap up a convincing victory.

“I was so nervous today, because I knew that game meant a lot,” revealed Menzies, who is battling to retain his PDC Tour Card.

“Winning that game meant the world to me, and I think going to work today helped me relax, because it made me realise that darts is a hobby for me.

“Obviously I would like to be in a situation in the future where I can give up work, because I know in spells I can score as well as the best, but it’s still my finishing that separates the top ten from a player like me.”

2010 runner-up Simon Whitlock survived a scare to win through a deciding-set clash against former PDC Asian Championship runner-up Paolo Nebrida.

Nebrida crashed in six 180s in an eye-catching display, and the Philippines thrower kicked off proceedings with a 116 checkout on his way to a clean sweep in set one.

The 28-year-old then missed a dart at double 16 to extend his lead in a dramatic second set decider, and Whitlock profited to turn the contest around and move into a 2-1 lead.

Nebrida responded by levelling at two apiece before kicking off set five with a 121 checkout, but Whitlock avoided a shock exit, winning the next three legs without reply to progress to round two.

“I’m exhausted after that,” admitted Whitlock, who will now face two-time World Champion Gary Anderson in a blockbuster second round tie on Saturday night. “That was a really tough match. Paolo played so well, but I think experience won that game for me.

“I’m a big 180 hitter and they weren’t there today, but tomorrow is a different day. Maybe they will turn, maybe I will turn up and me and Gary will have a great game.”