Premier League Darts star calls out organisers and references Luke Littler
Luke Littler will face Michael Smith in next week's Premier League play-offs.
Michael Smith has called out Premier League Darts organisers for putting the fixtures 'the wrong way around' on the final night of the regular season in Sheffield. Smith clinched the remaining play-off spot with victory over Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals, ensuring he will join Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen at the O2 Arena next week.
Littler secured his place at the top of the Premier League table with a win over Peter Wright before losing to Smith in the semi-finals. Bully Boy went on to wrap up his second nightly victory by cruising to a 6-3 win over Humphries in the final, but he was left frustrated by the fixture schedule in Sheffield.
Speaking to Sky Sports pundit Wayne Mardle after his victory in the final, Smith said: "I think the fixtures were the wrong way around. I think Littler should've been on third and I should have been on last, because if Littler won he won the league, if I won I finished third.
"Having our matches first and second, it kind of felt like the night was over, and then I looked at you in the booth after I won and I was just like: 'I'm gone here, I just want to get home, see my kids and get ready for next week'.
"But then I had to go back out and pull out, although I realised that the semi-finals were actually next week's fixtures."
Smith will take confidence from his win over Littler ahead of facing the 17-year-old in the Premier League play-offs. He added that while it was nice to beat Littler in Sheffield, it will count for nothing if he fails to repeat the achievement at the O2 Arena next week.
"It won't put doubts in his mind because he'll think the same way I do," said Smith. "It's next week that matters. What is it, first to 10? Luke won't be thinking about losing there."
Smith looked emotional after his quarter-final win over Aspinall, who was also chasing a play-off place but needed to beat Bully Boy to make it happen.
"I am crying more than I did when I won the Worlds," he added. "Playing Nathan there, he was outscoring me. I wasn't playing well at all and then I hit that 136 and then the 132 and I just knew that would have hurt him.
"I was like. 'kick on now' and I wanted to do cartwheels, backflips, everything but because it was Nathan I had to keep it calm and collected and apologise to him. I do feel sorry for him because I want him there as well as me, so that was really hard."