- Michael Smith won the PDC World Darts Championship in January 2023
- But he was knocked out of the 2025 edition by Kevin Doets in round two
- Smith’s average was marginally higher than Doets’ but the Dutchman won 3-2
Second seed Michael Smith is out of the PDC World Darts Championship after losing 3-2 to Kevin Doets in an epic match in the second round.
Smith – who won the tournament in January 2023 – whitewashed Doets in the first and third sets to take a 2-1 lead.
But the final set went all the way to a tie-break, which Doets eventually won 6-4 after missing three match darts.
Smith recorded a three-dart average of 96.93, while Doets averaged 96.90.
Doets – who beat Noa-Lynn van Leuven 3-1 in round one – will now face Krzysztof Ratajski, Richard Veenstra or Alexis Toylo in the last 32 after Christmas.
Speaking on Sky Sports after his shock win, Doets said: ‘I cannot describe this.
Former winner Michael Smith has been knocked out of the PDC World Darts Championship
Smith was beaten 3-2 by Dutchman Kevin Doets after a dramatic tie-breaker in the final set
‘This game was weird. He took his own set easy, I took my set easy, he took his easy, I took mine easily. The last set was incredible.’
Doets hit nine 180s – five more than Smith.
Smith finished the match with a 35.5% success rate on doubles, while Doets hit 31.6% of his.
Both men took out three-figure finishes, including an impressive 123 by Smith.
Thursday’s game was a rematch from last year’s second round when Smith beat Doets 3-2.
Doets said: ‘Before the game, I won the bull and he won it 3-2. This year, he won the bull and I won it 3-2. This is the most stressful game of my life and I’ve won it, yes!’
His impressive win came despite missing 11 darts at a double in the first set.
Doets concluded: ‘I felt like my scoring power was great, I just couldn’t get a double in. When I got one in, I just kept on going and going.’
Smith’s three-dart average was higher than Doets’ and his doubles success rate was better too
But Doets hit more 180s and claimed a crucial victory by winning the final set by six legs to four
The only other second round game on Tuesday saw Robert Owen beat Gabriel Clemens 3-1.
Tuesday’s other matches were all in round one. Lok Yin Lee beat Chris Landman 3-1 in the first match of the afternoon before Callan Rydz and Martin Lukeman overcame Romeo Grbavac and Nitin Kumar respectively.
Nik Kenny won 3-0 against Stowe Buntz in the evening session, before Matt Campbell edged out Mensur Suljovic 2-3.
Scott Williams defeated Niko Springer 3-1 before Doets shocked Smith.