Michael Smith has all but sealed his place in the Premier League playoffs with victory on Week 14 in Manchester.
The current world champion backed up his success in Leeds last Thursday by defeating Nathan Aspinall, Michael van Gerwen and Jonny Clayton.
Smith was far from his best in the lead up to the final, averaging no more than 93.37 in either of his first two matches, but he was able to turn on the style in the final.
Coming from behind, Smith missed double 12 for a nine-darter before he hit six perfect darts in the following leg, eventually sealing it in 12 darts.
SUPER SMITH SEALS NIGHT 14 SUCCESS! 🏆
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) May 4, 2023
Michael Smith, take a bow! 👏
The World Champion produces a magical display to defeat Jonny Clayton 6-3 to triumph in Manchester!
It's back-to-back nightly wins for Bully Boy, who averages over 110 to prevail at the AO Arena! pic.twitter.com/AVJoEZVZ30
There was a relentlessness with which Smith was throwing and he ultimately ran out a 6-3 victor with a 110.05 average, moving six points clear of Aspinall and Clayton who sit on the cut-off line with two weeks left.
Van Gerwen closed the gap on leader Gerwyn Price to two points courtesy of a 6-2 success over the Welshman, although the pair have already qualified for the playoffs.
While Chris Dobey posted a deserved win over Dimitri van den Bergh in their quarter-final match, both players are eliminated, with sixth-placed Dobey 10 points behind fourth with that amount of points available.
Peter Wright's 6-5 defeat to Clayton in the last eight also confirmed his exit ahead of the playoffs.
Darren Plant
