Premier League Darts review and preview: Smith in top four after slow start

PDC
Thursday, 20 August 2020 at 18:20
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In the run-up to the resumption of the Premier League Darts 2020 on August 25, Dartsnews looks back on the performances per player in the first six weeks of the competition. This time, Michael Smith is in the spotlight.

Smith is currently doing well in this edition of the Premier League Darts. The 2018 finalist sits on the third place with seven points after six matches.
The Englishman recovered well from a slow start, in which he only scored one point from his first two matches. Smith started the competition with a 7-3 loss against Glen Durrant and then drawn against Gerwyn Price.
The former World Championship finalist then won three games in a row. His first win came with an impressive 7-1 victory over Jonny Clayton, in a game in which he averaged 105.51. After that, Smith proved too strong for Daryl Gurney (7-5) and world number one Michael van Gerwen (7-4). In his match against Gurney, he also threw a nine-darter.
Smith lost his last match before the corona break. The St Helens ace lost 7-4 against world champion Peter Wright at his home match in Liverpool. In the remaining games of the first league phase, he faces Gary Anderson, Rob Cross and Nathan Aspinall.

Results

Michael Smith (95.41) 3-7 (95.01) Glen Durrant
Michael Smith (101.71) 6-6 (98.11) Gerwyn Price
Michael Smith (105.51) 7-1 (97.44) Jonny Clayton
Michael Smith (88.19) 7-5 (85.98) Daryl Gurney
Michael Smith (95.42) 7-4 (99.43) Michael van Gerwen
Michael Smith (94.00) 4-7 (100.78) Peter Wright

Remaining schedule for first league phase

August 25: Michael Smith v Gary Anderson
August 26: Rob Cross v Michael Smith
August 27: Nathan Aspinall v Michael Smith