"They can disrespect me as much as they want... See all the titles I've won and what I've done for this game'' - Michael Smith hits back at doubters

Michael Smith got off to a winning start at the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts on Sunday evening. In his opening group match in Wolverhampton, 'Bullyboy' defeated Mensur Suljovic 5-2.

Champion at the Grand Slam two years ago, Michael Smith has a lot of prize money to defend this time around in Wolverhampton. It urned into a real battle here too, despite the comfortable scoreline. As expected, it was the Austrian who was dictating the pace, slowing things down and stopping Smith from getting into a real rhythm. Nevertheless, Smith's qualities shone through as he secured the victory and the +3 leg difference for his group.

"I think the 96 changed the match," Smith assessed in his post-match press conference afterwards, noting a stunning two double 19 96 checkout from himself that left Suljovic seething. "It felt good. Felt like hard work, but I felt good overall."

The 34-year-old Englishman won this tournament in 2022 and then steamed on to win the World Darts Championship as well. This year, with the exception of the World Cup of Darts alongside Luke Humphries, he has yet to win a major. "Here is one of these tourament that's always been kind to me. Last year wasn't but yeah, I've always loved this and there's no better feeling," he says.

Given his somewhat inconsistent form over the last year though, Smith doesn't come to Wolverhampton this year fancied by many. "They can disrespect me as much as they want, they can talk behind my back, whatever, but at the end of the day, if I was applying for a new job and I got to write my CV, you'd see all the titles I've won and you'd see how much I've done in this game," Smith responds firmly to his doubters.

UK fans can use Sky Sports during the Grand Slam of Darts. As usual, the tournament begins with a group stage with eight pools of four players each. The group stage takes place from Saturday through Tuesday, with all players playing three times.

The top two players from each group will advance to the knockout phase. Starting Wednesday, Nov. 13, the knockout phase will begin with the first matches of the final sixteen. This round will be completed on Thursday, Nov. 14. The quarter-finals will be played on Friday, Nov. 15, and Saturday, Nov. 16, before the semifinals and finals are finished on Sunday, Nov. 17.