Smith hoping for perfect pre-wedding present.. the world title
AS the sultan of darts Jim Bowen used to say: “You can’t beat a bit of Bully.”
But as Michael ‘Bully Boy’ Smith prepares for the two biggest dates of his life in the space of four days this week, his nerves are shot to pieces.
Tomorrow night, he hopes to be the best man at Alexandra Palace after reaching his first William Hill PDC world championship final with a thrilling 6-3 win over Nathan Aspinall.
And on Saturday, Smith dreams of carrying the Sid Waddell trophy up the aisle, to his walk-on music Shut Up And Dance, when he gets married to fiancee Dagmara.
For a player who specialises in hitting a target smaller than the circumference of a wedding ring, we can only hope the exchange of vows goes more smoothly than this whiteknuckle ride. Don’t be fooled by Smith’s margin of victory.
He had to pepper the treble 20 bed with a semi-final record 17 maximum 180s, take out five ton-plus finishes and average 105.22 to keep heroic underdog Aspinall at bay.
After nailing double top to seal the winning 121 checkout, he joined his bride-to-be and son Michael Junior, aged four, in the crowd for a huddle.
Do you take this world championship finalist to be your lawful wedded husband? Getting hitched will be a piece of cake after this.
Aspinall we can deal with in short measure after the 500-1 outsider’s fairytale run came up just short of the ultimate happy ending.
He was a revelation. Nine months ago, he was a trainee accountant sifting through tax returns. But when he sits down to do his own numbercrunching, there will be a £100,000 deposit in his bank to show for his efforts at Ally Pally.
But Smith, with his mohawk hair and more tattooed artwork on his arms than the Sistine Chapel, looks every inch a world champion in waiting.
He said: “I’ve been the favourite in every game at this tournament because so many seeds were dropping out and leaving me to clear up the mess. I nearly made a mess of it myself and I felt like I was going to give birth to an ostrich egg, but it feels so good to be one step away from living my dream. “For two sets I was cruising, but Nathan kept getting better and better. I’ve never played in a game like that before and I feel so emotional I could cry.”
When Aspinall (left), 27, shipped the first seven legs without reply, his first major semi-final looked like being more one-sided than a postage stamp. Smith bagged the first set in 4min 46sec as if he was knocking out second-hand gear from a suitcase at the Sunday market down the hill.
And the second was brisk work too, until Bully Boy was betrayed by nerves or complacency.
Either way, he could scarcely believe Aspinall’s fightback to level the contest at 3-3 as the world No.73 played miles above his natural altitude.
Aspinall said: “The prize money I’ve won is a life-changing sum for me and my family. Tonight it wasn’t my time, but hopefully I’ll come back and go all the way next time.
“I’ve so much respect for Michael. I hope he goes on to win it now. The old boys on the circuit are still quality, but we’ve shown the young guys are hungry.”
In the evening, Michael van Gerwen thrashed his fellow two-time world champion Gary Anderson 6-1.
Van Gerwen said: “I think I played really well, especially early doors. Gary couldn’t find his form in the beginning and I took advantage of that. I didn’t give him any time to breathe.”