Smith picks up first Players Championship title of the year: "I wasn't going to come"

Michael Smith took the win at Players Championship 13 after a thrilling victory in the final over his former mentor, Gary Anderson.

Speaking afterwards to Dan Dawson, Smith was a relieved winner after having trailed 5-1 earlier on in the tie. "When I was 5-1 down I was thinking of when I first made the Premier League semi-finals. He was 5-1 up and I beat him," says Smith with a wry smile. "Something got into his head. He was annoyed, he was fuming and I just couldn't punish him but luckily enough that 116 checkout keeps saving me."

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Michael Smith defeats Gary Anderson from 5-1 down in thrilling final to claim Players Championship 13 victory

So far in 2023, Smith has been managing his schedule, meaning that his appearances on the Pro Tour have been few and far between. So much so that he started the day ranked 62 in the Players Championship Order of Merit, before leaping into the top 20 courtesy of his win.

"I wasn't going to come I'm not gonna to lie," Smith reveals to Dawson. "I want going to come. I had an exhibition on Friday and I thought 'we'll give it a go'. Obviously I don't want to miss a TV event so after I won the first game I was like 'You know what? I've got money on my ranking.' I just kept getting luckier and luckier and now I'm the champion."

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Anderson rises to second spot on Players Championship Order of Merit after final defeat