Michael Smith confident of maintaining solid form following yet another ProTour win
- Seb Sternik
- 15 June 2022
Michael Smith extended his winning streak at Players Championship events to 21 straight matches as he stormed to his latest title in Germany.
Bully Boy ensured his third straight Players Championship ProTour title with victory over Dirk van Duijvenbode in a thrilling final.
The world championship runner-up not only produced a tournament average of 101, but also landed 28 maximums as he clinched his 19th PDC title - and his fifth in as many weeks.
Smith boasted four ton-plus averages as he scooped the £12,000 prize with an 8-6 win over Van Duijvenbode in an action-packed final.
The Dutchman produced a three-dart average of 107.29 and hit seven 180s as he was sensationally denied a third PDC ranking title.
Smith set the tone by winning the opening leg in 11 darts, before repeating that feat later in the match to move 3-2 ahead.
Van Duijvenbode responded with 14 and 13 dart legs and seemed poised to take a 5-3 lead, only for Bully Boy to knock off a sensational 170 checkout in arguably the most important leg of the contest.
The world number four powered forward with a 110 finish in the tenth leg, and a 12 darter in the last to seal the deal.
🏴 SENSATIONAL SMITH ONCE AGAIN! 🏆
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) June 14, 2022
A fifth title in just over a month and a third ProTour title on the spin as Michael Smith yet again seals success, securing the win at PC16 with a remarkable 8-6 victory over Dirk van Duijvenbode!
Bully Boy is on FIRE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/rcbgyImQXj
"I'm in a rich vein of form and long may it continue," said Smith, who has now won 21 consecutive matches in Players Championship events.
"Every game I played today, I played really well. Whenever I need to pull a rabbit out of the hat, I'm able to produce something special.
"I'm looking forward to tomorrow now. There are some players missing, but you can only beat who is in front of you, and there's still a lot of top players here."
Since Players Championship 14 back in May, Smith has lost just five matches and won six events, including the US Darts Masters.
The ProTour action continues with Players Championship 17 in Niedernhausen on Wednesday, and live action will be broadcast across two streams on PDCTV.
