Michael Smith is looking ahead to the PDC World Championships at the Ally Pally next month after his impressive run in the Grand Slam.
The Merseyside player looked strong throughout the tournament before his eventual semi-final defeat to world number two, Peter Wright.
He won all three group stages matches in a tough group that included Gary Anderson and Raymond van Barneveld.
He continued this run by defeating Joe Cullen in the last 16 and then three-time Grand Slam champion, Michael van Gerwen, in the quarter-finals.
An impressive tournament for Smith means he is now at the number nine spot on the PDC Order of Merit, ensuring a strong seeding placement in the World Championship.
๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ช๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐!
Peter Wright wins eight legs in a row to beat Michael Smith 16-12 and reach the final of the 2021 @CazooUK Grand Slam of Darts!
100.70 average, 15x 180s and 53% on the doubles in a superb display. pic.twitter.com/31qMR2qWdC
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) November 21, 2021
Smith has been tipped as 10th favourite to win the World Championship at 28/1, while this yearโs Grand Slam champion Gerwyn Price is the favourite placed at 7/2.
With 96 players competing in the World Championship, Smith will be happy being considered among the top 10 in the sport.
He finished runner-up in the World Championship in 2019, after losing out to van Gerwen in a 7-3 defeat in the final.
๐ช๐๐๐ง ๐ ๐ช๐๐ก ๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ง๐! ๐ฅ
One of the best performances of Michael Smith's career as Bully Boy defeats Michael van Gerwen 16-13 to secure his spot in the semi-finals of the 2021 @CazooUK Grand Slam of Darts!
Incredible. pic.twitter.com/Ebvg9gvhn3
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) November 20, 2021
(Featured image by Sven Mandel, under creative commons licence)
