World Champion Michael Smith averaged 109.42 and beat Dimitri van den Bergh 6-4 to win night three of the Premier League in Glasgow.
The St Helens superstar always led throughout the final and hit 54.55% of his doubles in a clinical performance.
He nearly sealed victory with a 167 checkout, narrowly missing the bull before cleaning up 25.
It was Smith’s second victory over the Belgian this year.
The win takes “The Bully Boy” to the top of the table with seven points.
Smith started the night with a heavyweight clash against last week’s champion Gerwyn Price.
It was a scrappy match that began with four consecutive breaks of throw.
Smith held throw in the fifth leg to take the lead for the first time. He won four of the last five legs to beat the “Iceman” 6-3.
The World Number One clashed with Price’s Welsh teammate Jonny Clayton in the semi-final.
“The Ferret” picked up his first points of the tournament by thrashing Chris Dobey 6-1 in the quarter-final. He couldn’t add to his tally in the semi-final.
Smith averaged 101.23 and held his nerve in a last-leg decider to win 6-5.
Peter Wright sits bottom of the table and is the only man without any points so far.
SMITH LEADS THE WAY 🔢
Michael Smith goes top of the table after Night Three of the 2023 Cazoo Premier League…
Here's how the League Table shapes up! #PLDarts pic.twitter.com/zQJ37hrROE
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) February 16, 2023
The Scotsman lost in front of his home crowd to Dimitri van den Bergh in the quarter-final.
Defending champion Michael van Gerwen also failed to add to his points tally tonight.
“The Green Machine” recovered from 4-1 down to throw for the match in a last-leg decider against Nathan Aspinall.
Van Gerwen could only muster 57 and 30 in his first two visits and “The Asp” punished the Dutchman to win 6-5.
Next week, Michael Smith will take on bottom-placed Peter Wright in Dublin.
You can watch night four of the PDC Premier League next Thursday (February 23rd) on Sky Sports.
(Featured image with permission from Sven Mandel via Wikimedia Commons)
