Michael Smith finally landed his first major title on Sunday night at the Grand Slam of Darts and the man he beats now fears for the rest of the PDC.
Smith beat Nathan Aspinall 16-5 in a dominant display in Wolverhampton, putting to an end his run of defeats in major finals which had crept up to eight.
Bully Boy has lost in the World Championship (twice), Premier League, Matchplay and UK Open finals, among others, and it was becoming an ever-growing monkey on his back as he looked for that first major crown.
Now he has got it, though, Aspinall thinks the floodgates will open and he will not only win again, but dominate the field in the coming years.
‘I love Michael to bits, I’m so proud of him,’ Aspinall told Sky Sports. ‘He’s been beaten in all these finals and then you see the stuff that is said about him. It’s hard to get over the line and he’s done it.
‘He’s going to dominate and I’m really sorry to the rest of the Tour Card holders but we’re all in trouble now as he’s won his first major. If I’m going to lose to anyone, I’m glad it’s Michael.’
Smith appears to feel the same and is already feeling ‘greedy’ for more silverware with the Players Championship Finals starting this week and the World Championship coming round next month.
‘I’m used to doing the runner-up speech but I’m the cat – I’ve used my ninth life,’ said Smith. ‘I have arrived now, I have got my first title under my belt and no one can say I’m a bottle job, “Michael Smith hasn’t won a title”.
‘I have finally got one under my belt and it is time to step up. I knew when I went in at 15-5 it was just one more, even I couldn’t have messed that up.
‘It is hard when I’m the only person in the top 10 not to win a title, I have been there for seven years and it’s just a pain. You keep trying to say you will win one and you keep getting beaten. Now I don’t have to tell myself I’ll win one.
‘Now it is my time. It is time to be greedy now and get more and that is what I want.
‘I’m going to enjoy this until Thursday and then on Friday it’s a new event, and now I’ve got this title, who knows?’
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