Michael Smith arrives at the AO Arena intent on rewriting a season that has drifted off script. Night Ten in Manchester produced a quarter final exit and a growing chorus of critics suggesting the former world champion has lost his killer edge.
Smith responds with statistics. He still ranks third in tournament maximums and his three dart average sits fractionally below one hundred. The missing ingredient is doubling under pressure, a weakness he attacked by hiring a sports psychologist to install breathing checkpoints before each release.
Manchester holds fond memories. Smith averaged one hundred and eleven on this stage in twenty twenty three and believes the larger central sponsor logo aids his sight line when aiming at treble twenty.
His opener against Luke Humphries brings narrative weight. Smith trails the world number one five four in season head to heads yet notes that three defeats came by a single break of throw. He plans to switch early to double ten rather than traditional tops if early darts drift.
A trophy in Manchester would catapult Smith into the top four and silence social media noise. Anything less leaves him needing miracles in Sheffield and Liverpool, a scenario Bully Boy hopes never to contemplate.
