Near-disaster is a good sign for world champions

The defending champion almost failed on the first evening of the 2024 World Darts Championship. But Michael Smith turned on the heat at the decisive moment, prevented the debacle and now has tournament history on his side as well as new self-confidence.

For the past 15 years, every darts world champion without exception has started their mission to defend the title with a win. This year is no exception: Michael Smith, the nine-darter hero of last year's World Championship, narrowly won 3:2 against Dutch debutant Kevin Doets late on Friday evening. However, it is the first time in twelve years that a defending champion has only won his opening match in the deciding set. This is a good omen for the Englishman. But more on that in a moment.

For Michael Smith, the evening in London's venerable Alexandra Palace begins like a textbook favorite. The world champion takes the first leg straight away, even though his opponent was allowed to start. The early break paves the way to winning the first set.

But the blatant outsider Doets, who had qualified for the match against the title holder earlier in the evening with a 3:0 win over the US American Stowe Buntz, plays big. The 25-year-old Dutchman won the second set in the last attempt on double 5. After the break, Doets kept the level high, made consistent use of the few opportunities that presented themselves and sensationally won the third set as well.

"That finish was the killer"

Suddenly Smith has his back to the wall. This situation shows who is a champion and can hold their nerve. Smith can do that on this evening. Also because Doets missed an opportunity to make it 2:2 in the legs in the fourth set, the Englishman equalized.

Before he manages his masterpiece in the first leg of the deciding set: While Doets is already preparing to throw on the double, Smith checks 142 points out of nowhere to take the lead. "That finish was the killer. Moments like that are crucial," summarized the "Bully Boy" on Sport1 after the game.

Smith followed the monster checkout with dominant minutes. The Dutch rookie wins another leg because the world champion makes it unnecessarily tense at the end, but the big sensation doesn't happen in the end. Smith wins the fifth set 3:1 and stays in the tournament. "Now I'm going to Nathan Aspinall (sixth in the world rankings, editor's note) for six days and practise with him before I continue here after Christmas," said Smith on DAZN, explaining his plans after the nail-biting win.

World Championship history speaks for Smith

Of all things, the surprisingly narrow victory, accompanied by great trepidation, should increase the chances of defending the title. In any case, the statistics speak for themselves: Smith cannot blame himself despite narrowly escaping a shock elimination. The fact that it could have been so close was mainly down to his impressive opponent, who played the game of his life.

If Smith had not played much better than he had for long stretches of the year, he would not have been able to avoid the exit in the first match. However, the Englishman has managed to raise his level to World Championship standard, which gives him an enormous amount of self-confidence. "I feel good. That was exactly the game I needed," said the 33-year-old.

And a look at World Cup history also suggests that, contrary to what most experts say, the "Bully Boy" can still play a role in the battle for the 20-kilogram Sid Waddell Trophy. The last world champion, who only won his opening match in the title defense in the fifth set, defended his title two and a half weeks later: Adrian Lewis won 3-2 with great difficulty against Nigel Heydon at the 2012 World Championships, but then went on to clinch the World Championships double.

"11 a.m. plumbing job, 8 p.m. World Cup"

Things also got shaky for a former World Championship finalist in the opening match on Friday evening. Australian Simon Whitlock only defeated Paolo Nebrida, one of four Philippine World Championship participants, in the deciding set.

The opening evening of the World Championships was much more relaxed for Cameron Menzies. The Scot won 3:0 against Rusty-Jake Rodriguez, the only Austrian in the tournament. The preparation could hardly have been more complicated, as Menzies was still working in his main job as a plumber in a customer's bathroom that morning. "11 a.m. plumbing job, 8 p.m. at the World Championship," commented the organizing professional darts organization PDC at X on the Scotsman's unusual daily routine.

"Winning this game means everything to me," Menzies exulted. "I think it helped that I went to work today because I realized that darts is a hobby for me."

Legends duel in the evening

Gary Anderson's first appearance will be in the spotlight. The 2015 and 2016 World Champion has surprisingly often rediscovered his old form after disappointing years. If he manages to do the same at the World Championship, the 52-year-old Scot can be expected to achieve anything. However, the legend's duel with Simon Whitlock (approx. 11pm, Sport1/DAZN) is set to be a hot dance.

Not only Whitlock, but also Menzies will return to the legendary "Ally Pally" today after his opening success on Friday evening. In the second round match against Dave Chisnall (approx. 4pm, Sport1/DAZN), however, the busy plumber is only an outsider. "Of course I'd like to be in a situation in the future where I can give up work and concentrate on darts," said Menzies in the evening. One win over the world number 11 and the dream could soon become reality. After all, the preparation for his World Championship match today is more relaxed. "Fortunately, I don't have to work at weekends."

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In the 2024 edition of the World Darts Championships, defending champion Michael Smith narrowly avoided an early exit in his title defense, needing the full five sets to defeat Dutch debutant Kevin Doets. This is the first time in twelve years that a defending champion has started their World Championships title defense with a win in the fifth set.

Despite the close call, Smith's win-streak at the World Darts Championships continues. In fact, the last defending champion to only win their opening match in the fifth set went on to win the championship two and a half weeks later. This could be a promising sign for Smith's title defense.

Source: www.ntv.de