Michael Smith urged to keep away from Premier League and comply with Rory McIlroy strategy
Former darts world champion Michael Smith has been urged to avoid the Premier League and to follow Rory McIlroy’s approach after tumbling down the rankings
Former darts world champion Michael Smith has been told to avoid the Premier League and adopt a plan similar to Rory McIlroy’s approach to golf.
The 2023 world champion finally achieved his darting dream after years of heartbreak at Ally Pally but his poor form in the last two years has seen him tumble down the Order of Merit with his place in the Premier League under serious pressure.
‘Bully Boy’ faces an anxious wait to see if he will retain his Premier League spot for 2025 after falling to No.16 in the world following his Paddy Power World Darts Championship second-round exit.
But Smith has been told he should forget about playing in the non-ranking event and instead prioritise climbing back up the rankings with him in serious danger of missing out on the World Matchplay in July.
The 2010 Players Championship winner Paul Nicholson told talkSPORT that Smith should reset his focus for the year. “I’ve never questioned Michael Smith’s work ethic ever. And I never will. But I think he does,” the ex-PDC ace said.
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“So if he’s not putting in the work and he’s not going to enough tournaments or the right ones, which are ranked, because you could, if you’re world champion, you can go to the World Series, you can go to the Premier League and you can go to World Series finals and win a whole lot of money.
“But if it’s not in your ranking, you’re going to find yourself in a position where you’re not in the Matchplay.”
Currently, Smith is set to miss out on the sport’s second-biggest ranking event with him outside the automatic top 16 seeds and projected to be below the top 16 Pro Tour Order of Merit qualifying for the 32-player event.
“You’ve got to be crafty in that regard,” Nicholson added. “I actually think this is a good thing for Michael Smith because I think this is a chance for him to re-establish a time away from the Premier League because I don’t think he should be in it.
“Do a calendar for the year well in advance and say, ‘I’m going to these definitely’. Just leave a few with an asterisk against them. ‘I’ll go to these if I need to go to these’.
“This is how golfers prepare their seasons. When does Rory (McIlroy) ever play more than three weeks in a row? If he has to, that’s it. End of story.
“When does Tiger start his season? At the Farmers Insurance Open. Why? Because he wants to make sure he’s prepped for the season and he will cherry-pick everything.
“This is what dart players are going to have to do now. This has come at the right time for Michael because of 34 Players’ Championships in 2025, 14 European Tours, no guarantee of Matchplay, get the schedule right, get the work ethic right and I have every faith that the top ten will be his again.”
The Premier League line-up will be confirmed on Monday with the four players who will join the already confirmed four of reigning world and Premier League champion Luke Littler, World No.1 Luke Humphries, seven-time Premier League champion Michael van Gerwen and former World and Matchplay Champion Rob Cross to be announced.
