Darts final

2023 - 1 - 3

darts final 2023

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Smith hits nine-darter in taking PDC World Darts title from Van ... (The Guardian)

Michael Smith finally became world champion and world No1, outscoring Michael van Gerwen to win 7-4 in a memorable final.

Smith 2-1 Van Gerwen (legs 0-2) MvG hits a maximum; Smith sees that and hits back-to-back 180s before missing two at double for a 12-dart hold. Smith 2-3 Van Gerwen (legs 2-1) Smith leaves 40 after 12 on the Van Gerwen throw – and he gets a look when Van Gerwen misses two at D10. Van Gerwen isn’t on a finish to Smith is able to leave 50, and he cleans it up with the minimum of fuss. Smith 2-2 Van Gerwen (legs 1-1) MvG is pretty much matching his tournament average of 105; Smith is eight points above his, with a match average of 107. Smith 2-2 Van Gerwen (legs 2-1) The standard is preposterous. Smith 4-3 Van Gerwen (legs 2-1) For the second time in the match, Smith is rampant. Smith 2-3 Van Gerwen (legs 1-0) Three of the five sets have been won against the darts, so there’s no reason for Smith to panic. Smith 3-3 Van Gerwen (legs 1-2) Van Gerwen has another chance on the Smith throw, leaving 96 after 12. Smith 3-3 Van Gerwen (legs 0-2) This is the most glorious sport, with such subtle momentum shifts and complex psychology. Smith 6-4 Van Gerwen (legs 0-1) Smith, throwing for the match in this set, starts with 36. Smith again clenches his fists to the crowd, and Van Gerwen again joins the applause. MvG’s scoring has gone – he averaged 91 in the eighth set to Smith’s 105 – and Smith takes out 74 for a (relatively) comfortable 15-darter.

Cazoo World Darts Championship: Van Gerwen & Smith set for final ... (PDC.tv)

Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith will battle it out for Cazoo World Darts Championship glory in a blockbuster showdown at Alexandra Palace on Tuesday ...

You missed the doubles, nobody else did, and it was about putting it right. “I never thought after losing to Michael in 2019 that I would get another chance, so I’ve had a second, now I’ve got a third and I have never given up, I’ve always fought hard.” “From the heartache of playing Peter when I was 5-4 up and lost 7-5 – to where I’ve battled through for the last 11 months, just to get back to this stage and get another chance is special,” said Smith. “The way I played against Dimitri – if I do that in the final I think I’m going to win the game, but that doesn’t give you any guarantees so you need to remain focused. “Unbeatable is a big word, but I feel comfortable and from there on I can produce a lot, but you still have to do it when it matters. Three-time World Champion Van Gerwen and two-time runner-up Smith will lock horns in a repeat of the 2019 final on Tuesday January 3, with the winner also set to become the new world number one.

PDC World Darts live: Leg-by-leg scores and updates from Michael ... (Sportinglife.com)

Live leg-by-leg updates, highlights and statistics from the PDC World Darts Championship final as Michael Smith faces Michael van Gerwen at the Alexandra ...

[wrote about extensively with stats in my pre-match preview](https://www.sportinglife.com/darts/news/pdc-world-darts-championship-final-michael-smith-v-michael-van-gerwen-betting-tips-predictions-odds-statistics-h2h-record-and-sky-sports-tv-start-time/206363). However, although I'm tentatively going for van Gerwen tonight, I am pinning my hopes on Smith, who I backed at 8/1 in my [pre-tournament preview](https://www.sportinglife.com/darts/news/pdc-world-darts-championship-2023-betting-tips-preview-and-predictions-for-the-sky-sports-televised-major-at-the-ally-pally/205816). Since 2020, MVG only leads 7-6 and pretty much all of those 13 matches in all competitions have been very close. Apart from that it's just been one-way traffic without any hiccups and he's now won 13 sets on the bounce since Dirk van Duijvenbode managed one in his 4-1 victory over his fellow Dutchman. Michael van Gerwen's statistics are quite simply sensational and he's producing the kind of consistency from his dominating pre-Covid era when he made 100 averages look so easy. Not the standard of darts you'd expect in a World Championship final between the two best players in the world! Sky Bet latest odds: MVG is now 1/6 favourite for glory while Michael Smith has now drifted slightly to 7/2 but it is early days. MVG starts to leave the stage thinking he'd lost the set but then realises there's a deciding leg to be played! Sky Bet latest odds: MVG is hot favourite again at 1/6 while Bully Boy is back out to 7/2 despite playing to such a high level. A 17th 180 from Smith takes the match count to 30 in just 32 legs! Smith threatens his second nine-darter of the match after six perfect darts and although it fails on the seventh, he goes on to win the title with an 11-darter! To be World Champion and world number one is amazing.

Fans lose their minds as Michael Smith seals nine-dart finish in “best ... (Mirror.co.uk)

Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen played out one of the most remarkable moments in darts history, which was capped off by the former landing a nine-dart ...

Whilst van Gerwen threw a 180 and a 177 in, Smith landed two maximums of his own, as the two finalists matched each other in a sensational minute-or-so of darts. The leg saw Smith seal a remarkable nine-dart finish as he took on van Gerwen in the final of the World Darts Championship. In spite of Smith's magic, the three-time world champion also more than played his part.

PDC World Darts Championship final start time, TV channel and ... (WalesOnline)

Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith go head to head for darts' biggest prize.

- First round - £7,500 - Second round - £15,000 Since 2020, van Gerwen has beaten Smith seven times, with Smith picking up six wins - so it's been pretty tight between the pair. - Third round - £25,000 The winner will receive a huge chunk of that purse with £500,000. Smith faced more of a challenge in Gabriel Clemens, winning 6-2 and hitting 19 180s.

World Darts Championship final start time and TV channel for Smith ... (Liverpool Echo)

St Helens star Michael Smith will play in his third World Darts Championship final in five years and will be hoping to claim his first title against Michael ...

It means a lot to me, I gave it everything and I'm playing out of my skin at the moment. It costs so much energy, but I'm able to do it." Before that, he lost to van Gerwen back in 2019 and will be hoping that the same fate does not await him against the formidable Dutchman. I feel comfortable, I feel good and I'm playing some good darts. After his win he "I feel too good for that. READ MORE: How to watch Smith vs Van Gerwen Van Gerwen will be chasing a fourth world title having comfortably beaten Dimitri Van den Bergh in his semi-final 6-0 and has issued an ominous warning to Smith, saying that nobody will stop him winning the title. The final of the PDC World Darts takes place at Alexandra Palace on Tuesday night, with Michael Smith facing Michael van Gerwen in a repeat of the 2019 final. Smith, 32, beat Germany's Gabriel Clemens in his semi-final 6-2 to set up the clash with van Gerwen which will also see the victor claim the coveted World Number One status from Price. The form players of 2022 will meet in the final, with St Helens' Smith hoping to claim a first world title at the third attempt having lost last year's final to Peter Wright.