Michael Smith was able to crown himself the winner of Players Championship 9 on Monday. This win was made all the more impressive by the fact the former world champion was battling through the pain of gout all day.
"Don't you just love gout," Smith wrote on his official X account. "More pain killers required please, so I can actually lean while throwing. Feel sorry for my opponent there as I think he felt sorry for me."
Speaking to the PDC, Smith expressed his delight over his 20th Players Championship title. "I've finally got my name back in that winner's circle again and I'm over the moon," said Smith. "It's been hard. I was so far behind but if he was going to keep giving me chances I had to take them. An 88 average in a final is not good, but it's my first title in nearly 12 months."
The 33-year-old Englishman played in the final against Ryan Joyce. After falling behind 3-5, he won that match 8-6. After Tuesday's Players Championship 10, the Premier League looms on Thursday night, where Smith still has a chance of making the playoffs. "It's full focus for tomorrow and hopefully I win it again so I'll be flying home on Wednesday, and then [Leeds] is where my focus will be," he concludes. "It's in my own hands now, I'm two points behind Michael [van Gerwen] and three behind Nathan [Aspinall]. Wednesday I'll start thinking about Thursday night."
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