Michael Smith is aiming to turn a corner after reaching the knockout stages of the Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts in his first televised Premier event for over eight months.
The 2022 champion has made it out the group stage for the first time since he won the event three years ago, thanks to wins against Nathan Aspinall and Alex Spellman.
Although Smith succumbed to defeat against nine-dart hero Luke Humphries, the world number one did him a favour by defeating Aspinall 5-3 on Monday evening to confirm that both of England’s 2024 World Cup winners would advance to Round Two.
“I’m over the moon,” said the 2022/23 World Champion after beating Spellman 5-2. “I’m through to the last 16 and I can finally relax now.
“I did my job getting the two points, but I would have liked it to be 5-0 or 5-1.
“I didn’t want to come here and lose all three games and say I’m happy to compete against because that’s not my mindset; I wanted to win all three games.
“I’m through to the last 16 and now I can concentrate on Wednesday.”
Smith will face Chris Dobey for a place in the quarter-finals, with Dobey losing just two of his last 14 games since the European Championship, including a run to his third Players Championship title of the year.
It will be the third player Smith has played at the Grand Slam that featured in this year’s Premier League and is above him in the rankings, but that only gives him further motivation.
“Another Premier League player!” remarked Smith. “I've just got to play and get on with it. I've got no pressure now – if I get beat, I go home and if I win, I'm into the quarters.
“I've already played two good friends in Luke [Humphries] and Nathan [Aspinall], and now it's another one soon with Dobey. It’s all about concentrating now.
“If I get beat by Dobey, I've had a good tournament, especially being off for eight months.
Smith has experienced a tough period in his darting career, not featuring in a televised Premier event since reaching the quarter-finals of the UK Open in March.
The St Helens star revealed he was suffering from arthritis in his right hand in January, which has led to difficulties practicing and playing darts at his highest level – but vows to fight through it.
“I’ve just got to grit my teeth again and go through it,” asserted Smith. “I'm not just going to quit and roll over, I've got to keep fighting.
“Sitting out of everything just gave me the hunger back and I just want to fight and play again.
“I want to be on the big screen. I'm sick of watching Humphries and [Luke] Littler win everything, it’s annoying me now!
“This is the tournament I won my first major. Apart from the World Championship, this is my favourite tournament.”
Indeed, Smith’s late run in 2022 saw him secure his first televised title at the Grand Slam after falling short in eight Premier finals, and then win the 2022/23 World Championship to immortalise his darting credentials.
“Now I’m in the last 16, I’m four games away from winning two Grand Slams,” added Smith.
“In my mindset, I'm ready for it now. I'm ready to be back, I'm ready to be competing again.
“I could win this tournament, and I didn’t have that belief a couple of months ago.
“I've won this tournament before, why can’t I win it again?