BULLY BOY POWERS THROUGH! Michael Smith makes light work of Nathan Rafferty, winning nine legs out of nine to reach round three. #WCDarts | R2 📺 bit.ly/WC23Live
Michael Smith makes light work of Rafferty in whitewash win to reach third round at 2022/23 PDC World Darts Championship
PDCSaturday, 17 December 2022 at 00:21
Michael Smith will return after Christmas having produced a statement display to see off Nathan Rafferty winning nine legs out of nine at the 2022/23 PDC World Darts Championship.
Smith's 3-0 win featured a 96.62 average, three 180's and a whitewash despite only hitting 39% of his doubles in all during the tie.
Smith made a superb start with a 114 checkout. He missed double seven for a 71 checkout but returned for the same target and went one away from the opening set.
He missed two for the opening set but returned after Rafferty missed 11 for 121 and hit double nine.
Second set saw Smith pounce on Rafferty's misses breaking throw before consolidating with a 13-darter before sealing the match in style in the final set with a 130 checkout.
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- @UndartedWaters I totally agree with your thoughts! I totally respect Kirk but in this instance I was disappointed with his lack of crowd control. I even turned to my husband and said "Could you imagine this happening if Russ Bray was the referee tonight? At least there would have been a crowd admonishment- Ladies and Gentleman please." I so felt for Mike DeDecker...MamaVenus15-11-2024
- Many fans had a sour taste in their mouth by the end of this match. Mike was cruising to victory, playing beautiful darts, when the whistling started in earnest, particularly on his doubles. You could see in Mike's face that it was really affecting his concentration. The referee should have asked for order, just to show that the whistling is unacceptable, and Luke Littler could also have done his part to quieten down the crowd instead of "taking full advantage.:" I put that down to his age though. He needs some good advice on this from his management team and/or more seasoned players. It's got to be about who's best on the night, not who is being harassed by the crowd. Luke Littler played well to get back into the game and win, but it was a hollow victory. If he goes on to win the tournament, that triumph too will be tainted because of this match.
UndartedWaters15-11-2024 - Agree. Van der voort will be the one taking a break when he loses his tour card. Everyone saying about how bad Wright's last 18 months have been, and in that time he's won several Euro tours and the European Championships.Matilda6215-11-2024
- When Littler has at least five ranking Majors he’s in the discussion, until then, forget it.Mysstree14-11-2024
- This is the difference between other players and Phil Taylor. Phil would be completely motivated even before his walk on and didn't need anything else to do so.richieburnettrocks14-11-2024