Glasgow glory as Smith opens Cazoo Premier League account
Michael Smith won his first evening in the Cazoo Premier League of 2023 by beating Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-4 in Thursday’s Glasgow final at the OVO Hydro.
The World Champion had seen Chris Dobey and Gerwyn Price claim victory in the first two weeks of the Premier League but was delighted with a jam-packed Hydro to collect the £10,000 bonus and five valuable league points.
World no.
However, with an average of 109.42, he salvaged his best performance for the finals, moving up to the top of the league table.
Hear from your Night Three champion in Glasgow – Michael Smith…
How many nights does the world champion win this year?#PLDarts pic.twitter.com/qqjGHd3g1q
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) February 16, 2023
Smith led 2-0 and 3-1 before Van den Bergh brought out 86 on the bull to reply – only for the Grand Slam of Darts winner to take power in a 140 finish for a 12-darter.
Van den Bergh showed legs on 13 and 14 darts to fall back to 5-4 but Smith ended his double top hopes to end a memorable night in Scotland.
“I’m very happy – I just want to win nights like this” said Smith, who had to wait until night 16 last year to claim a nighttime win.
“At least I didn’t have to wait until week 16 to get my win! Aside from the Gezzy game, I felt good tonight.
“I was more nervous playing Gezzy because he won last week. He was ready but I managed to push through and then I had a 100 average against Jonny.
“I had some dodgy legs in doubles but everything else felt really good and I had to keep believing in what I was doing.
“Obviously I want to finish in the top four, I want to be on finals night and keep winning. I know I can’t win every game but if I play well I know I can win, that’s what the Premier League is about.”
Van den Bergh had defeated Scotland’s Peter Wright 6-4 in the quarter-finals before putting on a sensational performance in the semi-finals.
The Belgian defeated Nathan Aspinall 6-1 for a 105.73 average to wow the Glasgow crowd but failed to repeat that feat in the decider against an inspired Smith.
Nathan Aspinall
Nathan Aspinall – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Dimitri Van den Bergh
Dimitri Van den Bergh – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Dimitri Van den Bergh
Dimitri Van den Bergh – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Peter Wright
Peter Wright – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Michael Smith
Michael Smith – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Gerwyn price
Gerwyn Price – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Michael Smith and Gerwyn Price
Michael Smith & Gerwyn Price – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Johnny Clayton
Jonny Clayton – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Chris Dobey
Chris Dobey – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Jonny Clayton and Chris Dobey
Jonny Clayton & Chris Dobey – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Dimitri Van den Bergh
Dimitri Van den Bergh – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Nathan Aspinall
Nathan Aspinall – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Nathan Aspinall
Nathan Aspinall – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Dimitri Van den Bergh
Dimitri Van den Bergh – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Michael Smith
Michael Smith – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Michael Smith & Jonny Clayton
Michael Smith & Jonny Clayton – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Michael Smith
Michael Smith – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Michael Smith
Michael Smith – 2023 Cazoo Premier League Night Three (Taylor Lanning, PDC)
Wright is now the only player still to have a league point after continuing his winless streak in Glasgow, where Clayton picked up his first win when he averaged his first win in a 6-1 loss to Night One winners Dobey 103 scored.
Michael van Gerwen was the evening’s other quarter-final loser, with the reigning Premier League champions landing a 170 checkout when he was 4-1 down to force a deciding leg against Aspinall, who beat the 11th leg of the tie.
The Cazoo Premier League resumes on Thursday 23 February with Night Four at Dublin’s 3Arena where Smith will take on world number two Wright.
Van Gerwen meets Dobey, Price meets Van den Bergh and Clayton plays Aspinall to a sold-out Irish crowd.
The Cazoo Premier League 2023 will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, via PDC’s global broadcast partners including DAZN, Viaplay and VTM, and on PDCTV for subscribers from the rest of the world.
Click here for game statistics
Click here to see how to watch worldwide
Click here to view the Cazoo Premier League table
2023 Cazoo Premier League
Night Three – Thursday February 16th
OVOHydro, Glasgow
quarter finals
Nathan Aspinall 6-5 Michael van Gerwen
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-4 Peter Wright
Michael Smith 6-3 Gerwyn Price
Jonny Clayton 6-1 Chris Dobey
semifinals
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-1 Nathan Aspinall
Michael Smith 6-5 Jonny Clayton
final
Michael Smith 6-4 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Night Four – Thursday 23rd February
3Arena, Dublin
quarter finals
Michael Smith versus Peter Wright
Gerwyn Price vs. Dimitri Van den Bergh
Jonny Clayton vs. Nathan Aspinall
Chris Dobey versus Michael van Gerwen
All games Best of 11 Legs
format
Quarterfinals, semifinals and a final over the best 11 legs (first through sixth) will be played each night. Each player meets the other seven players twice in a quarter-final match during the course of the season, and additional matches of the same format are played on two other nights.
league points
Night Winner: 5 points + £10,000 bonus
Second: 3 points
Semifinalists: 2 points
prize fund
Winner: £275,000
Second: £125,000
Semi-finalists: £85,000 each
Fifth in the league table: £75,000
Sixth in league table: £70,000
Seventh in the league table: £65,000
Eighth in the league table: £60,000
Nightly Winner Bonus: £10,000 x16
Total: £1,000,000