"Sometimes, stepping away is the better option" - Van der Voort sees danger for Michael Smith and draws comparison with Adrian Lewis

Michael Smith is enduring what may be the most challenging spell of his professional career. The 35-year-old former world champion has been hampered by injuries for several months and, for the first time since 2014, failed to qualify for the World Matchplay. In response, the St Helens star has also withdrawn from this week’s Players Championship events in Hildesheim.

“It looks like he’s hitting the reset button,” said Vincent van der Voort on the Darts Draait Door podcast for Sportnieuws.nl, where he appears regularly alongside host Damian Vlottes. “He’s realised there’s no point in just pushing on at this pace. He needs to rebuild, rest, train, and find his form again. That only comes back if you break out of that downward spiral.”

Smith, the 2023 PDC World Champion, has now slid all the way to No. 21 on the PDC Order of Merit. Despite his efforts to rediscover the form that made him one of the most feared players on the circuit, the results simply haven’t followed.

“Something has to give,” Van der Voort continued. “This might actually be a very smart decision. You can keep chasing the Grand Prix, but if things aren’t going well, you could just crash out in the first round. Sometimes, stepping away is the better option.”

Van der Voort also speculated that Smith’s equipment could be contributing to the slump. “He changed his darts, his setup. Maybe it’s that—he just doesn’t seem to throw as smoothly anymore. He might need to look there. He’s never really hit that level again since winning the World Championship,” said ‘Fast Vinny’.

With Smith’s form faltering, Van der Voort drew a stark comparison to another former world champion. “You always fear he might go the same way as Adrian Lewis. That risk is real. Darts waits for no one—you always have to perform, and that pressure never goes away. Smith is such a huge talent, so you’d expect him to bounce back. But I said the same about Adrian.”

“You’d think he’ll regroup,” Van der Voort concluded. “He’s likely taking the summer off—until the end of August—and then he’ll try to go again. But it’s all happened very fast. He played everything up to the Matchplay, then dropped out of everything.”