Michael Smith facing £500,000 problem ahead of first PDC World Darts Championship match

Michael Smith has dubbed his year as world champion the best time of his life. But the glory now comes with a hefty £500,000 ranking challenge - because he slacked off in the aftermath. 

Bully Boy conquered the darting world when he beat Michael van Gerwen in a spectacular match that included the legendary 'perfect leg', clinching the 2023 title and soothing years of prior disappointments. Twice before Smith had been runner-up in world finals, leading some sceptics to question whether he'd ever win the sport's most coveted accolade.

But when the stars aligned for him at Alexandra Palace, celebrations ensued - and such revelries, Smith believes, are partly to blame for his subsequent dip in form. 

"The first 12 months after winning it were the best 12 months of my life," Smith admits. “I stepped away from darts, no Pro Tours, no Europeans, I just had fun. I must have had eight or nine holidays throughout the year, but in the last year I have been paying the price for that.

"I have been struggling to find different rhythms and different forms and also who I am as a person. It was a bit of a catch 22 really, trying to find it all again," reports the Mirror.

"But you know what, I'd do it all again. I just know the next time I win the Worlds, I am going to do a Humphries and keep on playing and playing and playing, because that guy is absolutely killing it.

"I did the wrong thing. I think it might have been because I had been to the final twice before and lost them both, so after I won it I just thought I'm going to go and enjoy myself now. It was immature, but I just wanted to have fun."

With his form having taken a hit since then, Smith is now facing a dramatic drop in the world rankings if he doesn't perform well at Ally Pally this Christmas. The £500,000 prize money he won will be removed from the Order of Merit, as two years will have passed since his victory.

However, Smith claims that doesn't add any extra pressure on him going into this year's tournament, despite the fact that a poor run could see him provisionally drop as low as 15th in the world rankings. "The only pressure that is added to me is when I get asked the question about pressure," he says.

"Everyone else is thinking about me defending half a million, other than me. I am defending half a million but I don't have to give it back if I get beaten in the first round. The money is still sat there safe, it is invested.

"I don't give two flying... you know what I'm going to say! I think this is my 13th year at the Worlds and every single year I show up. I have had a couple of shockers in there but I've had three finals, more quarter-finals, some last 16s."

For Smith, the Worlds is the highlight of the year. "If I get beaten first round - which everyone might expect with the way I have been playing in the last couple of months - so what? It's a free hit.

"Hopefully I win it, that's my plan, but if I make quarters or semis, that is not what I want, I'm there to win things, but it would keep the bankroll and rankings ticking over."

Smith acknowledges the rising challenge in the sport, especially with players like Luke Humphries and Luke Littler elevating the game.

"I think when Michael and I played that perfect leg, we took it to another level, but since then, the two Lukes have taken it to another level yet again.

"You see the kids now, like Wessel Nijman, he is unreal; look at the Grand Slam, he had about a 107 tournament average and didn't win a game. He will get his chance and that opportunity. We have all worked for it, it doesn't just happen overnight, so as long as he knows that, he will get there."

"The thing with darts right now though is that there are even more kids coming and we don't know them yet. With the JDC things, there's probably a 12-year-old kid out there now who is banging in 100 averages. That is the frightening thing about darts."

As the sport grows, Smith understands the potential need for a change in World Chanmpionship venue which has been hinted at by Barry Hearn, suggesting that Matchroom and the PDC might consider moving from Ally Pally to allow darts to reach its full potential.

But Smith has made an impassioned plea to the management, urging them not to relocate and expressing his concern that the unique atmosphere of Ally Pally could never be replicated elsewhere. "Ally Pally is the pinnacle," he insists.

"As soon as the final is done on the 3rd January, you have the fourth off and then on the 5th you start getting ready for Ally Pally next year.

"I saw an article about wanting more fans and it might be a different venue, but I think it would be criminal if you take Ally Pally away from darts. It might not be what Barry or Eddie (Hearn) think, but it is what I think."

"It is the same with going to Blackpool for Winter Gardens (for the World Matchplay). That is all you know it by.

"My youngest boy is seven and he doesn't say 'you won the World Championship', he says 'you won Ally Pally'. That is all they know.

"We have to stay there and I'll say it again, it is the pinnacle of our sport. I really hope it does stay there, the fans there are the best in the world. You see so many costumes out there.

"I never look out in the crowd but the one time I did, I heard a cheer and I looked over, saw the Jamaican bobsleigh team running up and down the aisle with a cardboard bobsleigh, it was one of the best things I have ever seen.

"That is what you are guaranteed to see at the Worlds with Ally Pally, everyone having a party, it's Christmas and you get to see the best 96 players in the world."