The opening match at the Mercedes-Benz Arena was between Smith and Dimitri Van den Bergh. After missed doubles by both players, it was finally Van den Bergh who managed to break to take a 1-0 lead. The reigning world champion broke back immediately and the next three legs were also won by 'Bullyboy', who took a 4-1 lead.
Van den Bergh then struggled to hold throw but reduced the deficit to 4-2. The next two legs were nicely divided and with a 5-3 lead Smith finished it off with a 16-darter.
Smith will take on Nathan Aspinall later tonight in the semifinals. Chris Dobey immediately broke Aspinall's throw in the first leg, but the latter broke back immediately to make it 1-1. After that both players held throw and the match was tied until 4-4.
A 17-darter gave 'The Asp' a 5-4 lead and he needed just one more leg to win. Aspinall kept surging through and with a great last leg in just 11 darts he won 6-4.
The other semifinals follow later tonight, with Michael van Gerwen taking on Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price playing Peter Wright.
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A BIG WIN FOR BULLY BOY! 🏴
Michael Smith is up and running here in Berlin after defeating an out-of-sorts Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-3 to win the opening match of the night!
Up next 👉 Nathan Aspinall v Chris Dobey
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