"I'd retire if I fall out of 64" - Don't expect to see Michael Smith at Q-School if slide down the rankings turns severe

Just under two years ago, Michael Smith fulfilled his darting destiny to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy and crown himself PDC World Darts Championship winner. After a quieter spell in the two years since though, the pressure is on 'BullyBoy' heading back to Ally Pally this December, with a big drop down the Order of Merit looming should he exit early.

According to Dartsrankings.com, in their post-World Darts Championship Order of Merit, Smith has dropped down to 14th. This is of course, only taking into account the minimum prize money on offer, so the deeper Smith goes, the more money he retains of the £500,000 he earner two years ago at the Alexandra Palace and the higher up the Order of Merit he can stay.

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"I really don't (think about it), because the only thing that stresses me out now is the questions about that. But I'm not bothered about it, because I'm not going to fall out of the top 16," Smith tells Sky Sports though, not too concerned about the prospect of slipping down the rankings. "I might fall out of the top 10 if I don't pull my finger out, but it means next year then, because I've virtually took a year now, I've got nothing to defend. So I've got probably about £120,000 to defend next year, so I'll be back to work along anyway. So next year, not bothered, no pressure, I just want to play darts. The other side of that, my management team can worry about it, my family can worry about it, I just want to play."

With so much at stake though, Smith knows how important a deep run in the coming weeks could be. "Every time I play, I want to win. So the main goal is just to win the World Championships. The bare minimum I'd want is at least a semi-final. Even then, semis, I'd lose £400,000 on my ranking," Smith assesses. "But semis for me is bare minimum, but I'm only turning up to win. Like you shouldn't think about, I'd love to get to the third round of the World's, or the last 16, you want to be the World Champion. That's my main target, my only target, is winning."

Michael Smith celebrating his World Championship victory in January 2023

"It is all going down to December 15 when a month of the Worlds starts. If I can have my game ready for that, or win the Worlds, my year's been amazing again. So it's just that one event that we worked 12 months for, win that, and then everything's forgotten about then," he continues. "The Ally Pally, there's no better feeling, especially when you're standing on that stage as well. You spent 12 months of the year trying to get there, you're finally there, and you don't want to blow it then. That's the only bit of pressure on yourself that you think, forget being out, it's been a wasted year."

If Smith's slip down the rankings were to turn severe though, don't expect 'BullyBoy' to turn up at Q-School. "As long as I don't fall out of 64, because then I'll retire then," he admits. "If I fall out of 64, I won't do Q School, because I know I wasn't good enough, so I'll just literally start something else."

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