A THIRD FINAL IN FIVE YEARS! 🏴 Michael Smith books his spot in the biggest game of them all for the third time in five years as he beats Gabriel Clemens 6-2. What a performance from the 32-year-old 👏 #WCDarts | SF 📺 bit.ly/WC23Live
"Michael came over and said this is the final we all want me and him": Smith gunning for 'revenge' with Van Gerwen clash in PDC World Darts Championship Final
PDCTuesday, 03 January 2023 at 09:00
Into his third PDC World Darts Championship final in five years, Michael Smith believes a repeat of the 2019 edition, pitting himself against Michael van Gerwen is the perfect way to end the tournament. "This is the final we all want, me and him."
Ending the history-making run of the German Giant, Gabriel Clemens, Smith was throwing somewhere near his very best darts. Averaging nearly 102, firing 19 maximums and checking out with a 42% success rate on his doubles, Bully Boy proved a step too far for Clemens. "Tonight I showed up," Smith says. "I hit crucial doubles, I hit really good 180s tonight and yeah I'm really, really happy with myself."
However, there is still room for improvement if Smith's dream of lifting the Sid Waddell trophy is to come true, at least according to the man himself. "I wouldn't say it was a complete performance, if it was complete I could have been 3-1 up, 4-1 up. I missed double 15 with three darts in the second set and I think there was a set in that I hit two eleven darters and then lost the set 3-2," Smith explains. "It wasn't complete but it wasn't far off."
With Clemens having played the darts of his life at this tournament so far, Smith admitted he almost felt bad that he had knocked the German out. "I apologised for beating him because if he would have won tonight that would have been massive for Germany, just to have him in the final. It could have given us a lot more money on the European tours!" Smith laughed.
As mentioned, the final is going to be a rematch from the 2019 World Championship. Michael van Gerwen emerged a 7-3 victor on back then but Smith is out for revenge and he believes he is a much better player than the one who lost 4 years ago. "I've got better mentally I think, I've got older. I was always moaning and throwing my toys out the pram, it was someone else's fault," Smith says. "Over the last two or three years, I've put my mind right, I do take responsibility and I think my mental side of the game is much better."
"It would mean the world to me," Smith declares. "I want to win. I've finally won my first major, hopefully I can get my first World Championship. If I don't, I'm only 32 so I've still got 18 more left. I'll keep fighting, keep competing and if it does work out the way I want it too I feel sorry for my liver."
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