Michael Smith will face Gerwyn Price on Night 3 of the Premier League in Belfast tonight (February 17).
The St Helens native missed out on competing in the Premier League last year, and earned his spot back in the big time by reaching the World Championship final in January.
Smith is without a win after the first two weeks of action, having lost to Peter Wright and Jonny Clayton in his respective quarter-finals.
Speaking after the defeat to Clayton, Smith was disappointed with his start in the competition.
He said: “I’ve worked my way back in (to the Premier League) but I’m kind of playing like I shouldn’t be here.”
Despite this, he is optimistic about his chances going forward.
“Two losses, yeah, if I can go on now and win the next 14, no-one remembers those two losses.”
Smith will not have the benefit of a perceivably favourable matchup as he looks to put his first points on the board against Price.
The Welshman is currently ranked as world number one, although this title is under pressure from Peter Wright.
Smith is fully aware of the difficulty of his opposition. He suggested that Price posed the biggest threat of his opponents so far.
With Wright being the World Championship winner and Clayton the Premier League holder, this is testament to the strength of Price.
However, Smith did defeat Price recently on his path to the World Championship final.
He remains unfazed by the identity of his opponents as he chases his first points.
“It’s just about getting that first win and it doesn’t matter who you’re playing or when you’re playing, it’s just that first win and Gez is just another opponent.”
As the only player not to have scored a point so far, Smith is bottom of the Premier League table.
With 14 weeks to go, there is still ample opportunity for ‘Bully Boy’ to turn his fortunes around.
He’ll hope he can spark this revival sooner rather than later with a good performance in the Northern Irish capital tonight.
Should Smith find success against Price in his quarter-final, he’ll face the winner of Michael van Gerwen and Joe Cullen in tonight’s semis.
(Featured image courtesy of Taylor Lanning/PDC)
