"Just because I had one bad game, now no one even remembers my name” - Michael Smith states damaging result that prevented his Premier League return

Despite enduring an abysmal 2025, Michael Smith is feeling that his 'hunger' is returning as he looks to get back to his best form ahead of a busy end of the year, with possibly the Grand Slam of Darts being followed by the Players Championship Finals and the PDC World Darts Championship.

He has failed to qualify for the three previous majors, reflecting the woes he has suffered since lifting the Sid Waddell trophy at the start of 2024 and becoming the world number one. However, he believed it could have been a different story if he managed to find a way past Kevin Doets in the second round of the World Championship.

“No, it’s people like you and other people who tell me where I’m ranked. I don’t really care as long as I’m competing and playing I’m not bothered," Smith said in an interview with Weekly Dartscast. "I think it shows in darts, it doesn’t matter where you’re ranked — if you’re playing well you’re going to get invited to things and do everything. I think if I would have beat Doets that year, I thought I would have been in the Premier League, especially because I’d been in every major, made a semi-final that year, had a final as well. Just because I had one bad game, now no one even remembers my name.” 

These past struggles on the oche have not got Bully Boy down, who believes that he is slowly getting back to where he belongs, highlighting the tally of points he must boost his average by to be back competing with the best. “I just need to get that hunger back, which the last two months it’s started to come back a bit," he said. "Sadly, it didn’t come back at the start of the year, but it’s started to come back now. You can see my averages going up again around 95, 96, which means I’m about five points off competing properly, 10 points from winning. It doesn’t sound much, but it does over big long formats."

Injuries have been a huge factor, with him suffering from arthritis in his right-hand and a shoulder injury halting his progress, something he will attempt to battle through. "A couple more hours on the board, another injection in December on my wrist and shoulder — and I’ll be like, Tin, man, then going into the Worlds. I’ll be nice and loose and concentrate on having a good 2026,” he said.

The top 10 is the aim for Smith, who is eyeing up a resurgence at the backend of 2025. He currently sits 45th in the Players Championship order of merit, leaving him all-but qualified for Minehead with a £6,000 buffer. Before, that, he will target a return to the Grand Slam, where he broke his major duct in 2023 after previously succumbing to defeat in nine major finals.

“The main aim now is the last day in Wigan, Halloween, the qualifiers for the Grand Slam. So I’ve got about three weeks of solid practice, picking up where I left off over the last month," Smith said. "Then I’ve got Grand Slam, Players, and the Worlds — two of the three biggest tournaments of the year. If I can put some good runs in there, get back inside the top 10, then my career is back on track — and everyone just forgets. Because we have this conversation, I can go and win the Worlds and no one remembers I didn’t qualify for the Matchplay.”