Smith sealing first PDC major title ominous according to Deller: "Now he’s got that monkey off his back he’ll be very tough to beat"

Michael Smith sealed his maiden major title over the weekend at the Grand Slam of Darts and that was ominous according to 1983 World Champion, Keith Deller who believes he will now go onto win more and become a force.

“The thing is now, the others have got to watch out because his scoring power is in the top two in the world,” Deller told Daily Star Sport.

“His scoring is relentless. Now he’s got that monkey off his back he’ll be very tough to beat.

“It’s not going to be a case of Michael winning tournament after tournament because of the competition. There are so many top players. The World Championship draw is going to be fun!”

Deller also added that he believes that Smith's prior issues in final stemmed from starting too slowly due to the situation and that when his rhythm goes, it's the only issue with his game.

“I thought he would beat Nathan because his scoring was more powerful and the [matchplay] format is one that suits Michael. It allows him to get into his rhythm.

“The problem Michael had – and I said this to him – was that he kept starting too slow in finals. He was giving his opponent a head start a lot of the time.

“That was because he was so anxious to get off to a good start, he wasn’t flowing, and Michael’s game is all about his rhythm. If his rhythm is out, that’s where his problems are. When his rhythm’s there, his scoring power is unbelievable, it’s relentless.”