Michael Smith dumped out of World Darts Championship and set to plummet down rankings

Michael Smith won the World Championship at Alexandra Palace two years ago but has struggled since and now been knocked out of this year’s tournament by Kevin Doets

Michael Smith’s tumble down the world rankings accelerated alarmingly after his shock exit from the Ally Pally madhouse.

‘Bully Boy’ was the toast of the nation two years ago after his perfect leg in the final against Michael van Gerwen, but a calamitous 3-2 defeat by Kevin Doets in a late-night thriller laid bare Smith’s decline.

Since his maiden world title triumph, Smith has lost his way – by his own admission with nobody to blame but himself – and he needed a long run at the Paddy Power PDC World Championship to avoid dropping out of the top 16.

For the second year running, he met Dutch dark horse Doets in the second round – and this time the No.2 seed came out on the wrong side.

Twelve months ago there was needle on stage, with Smith taking exception to 27-year-old Hawkeye “giving it the big ‘un.”

And although the 2023 world champion took the opening set here, he wasted his good fortune as Doets squandered 12 of his first 13 darts at a double.

By the time he unfurled his first 100-plus checkout with a 123 finish in the deciding set, he was already staring down the barrel.

It looked like heading to a sudden-death leg, but Smith blinked first and Doets relished his revenge, saying: “It’s the most special game I’ve had in my life.

“When he was 2-1 up, I still had a focus and felt if I kept this focus I would not lose the game. To get over the line is amazing.”

Make no mistake: Smith deserved to lose.

He was outgunned 9-4 on maximum 180s, missed 20 of his 31 shots at a double and even a 106.20 average in the deciding set could not save him.

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.