We’ve seen the best and worst of Michael Smith in the first three weeks of the darts Premier League.
The man from St Helens was sensational on the opening night in Cardiff, seeing off reigning champion Michael Van Gerwen in a tense deciding leg, making no mistake on his match dart.
He then had to deal with whistling from the crowd in his match against teenage sensation Luke Littler, taking it on the deciding leg again, despite Littler’s impressive 105 average.
He faced home hero Gerwyn Price in the final, the man who won in Cardiff last year. However, he made it look easy, racing into a 3-1 lead after losing the first leg, smashing Price 6-2 without looking back.
He remained top of the Premier League table despite a semi-final loss to Van Gerwen in Berlin, on a night where almost every match went to a deciding leg.
Smith was able to come back from 4-1 down against the Green Machine to take it to the decider, but wasn’t a match for him having edged out Price in the quarter final with both players hitting a maximum 170 checkout.
However, he had a woeful performance on night three, losing to Rob Cross 6-4, where both players averaged well under 100. Smith barely averaged 80.
He was visibly frustrated with himself throughout the match but was unable to get his mojo back and bowed out early. Despite that setback, he still sits second in the table, three points behind leader Van Gerwen.
Luke Littler of Warrington has also impressed, but could easily be sitting higher up the table. He was a clear fan favourite on night one, with both Smith and Luke Humphries being greeted by whistles.
He demolished Humphries 6-2, making mincemeat of the world champion, becoming the first player to win a Premier League match on debut since 2014. He then lost to Smith in a deciding leg in the semi-final, but put in a positive performance for his opening night.
He was imperious on night two, seeing off Rob Cross before taking another win off Humphries, taking them both top deciding legs.
Littler had almost looked out of the contest with Humphries, but a massively impressive 162 on the treble 18s put him on his favourite double ten finish to take to the final.
He matched up well to Van Gerwen and took him to a dramatic final leg, where he had two darts on double ten to win, only to miss both, giving Van Gerwen the win.
If he’d been hoping for redemption in Glasgow however, it wasn’t to be, as Price edged him out in a thrilling contest.
Price had been a double 12 away from a nine-dart finish, while Littler took out a massive 138 finish, but ultimately couldn’t stop the Welshman from taking his first victory over him.
Ultimately, both players have looked good, Littler looking the better of the two even when he loses. However, Smith came out on top in their only match against each other so far. Smith sits two points ahead of third-placed Littler in the table, with both very much in contention for the title.
The Premier League comes to Liverpool on April 25th at the M&S Bank Arena.
