Michael Smith has hit back at Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright’s comments and admitted the talk from the two-time world champion spurred him on to win the World Cup of Darts.
Smith teamed up with world No 1 Luke Humphries for the doubles event in Frankfurt, where England defeated Austria 10-6 in the final to claim a fifth World Cup title.
They were top seed for the four-day event but had been tested before the tournament on whether they would work well together in the group stage, with Wright saying ahead of their semi-final match that Scotland would “smash England”.
Smith and Humphries dismantled the Scottish pair 8-4 to book their place in the final, where they picked up a first win in England since Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis in 2016, with “Bully Boy” criticizing his form Wright in the World Cup winners’ press. conference.
“Before the semi-final, Peter Wright walked past him, asking Luke how his shoulder was,” Wright said. βThe guy is only 78 and he tried to give me s***?
“I was like ‘what are you doing?’ And then he had an argument, or not, but he tried to make a little joke backstage. It’s just the same as everything else.
βThis guy should have strong shoulders because he’s been holding up the Premier League for two years.
βIt bothered me today and I think that got me going in that semi. I’ve never given it that big.
“I had to take it out because it really bothered me.”
How England claimed World Cup glory
The title favorites led 5-1 over 2021 runners-up Rowby-John Rodriguez and Mensur Suljovic, Humphries taking out 151 in the sixth leg and 121 in the next before Austria hit back to cut their deficit to 6-4.
A 180 from Humphrys then set up Smith, who had struggled with his doubles early on, to make a double 15 before finishing with 130 and Humphrys’ 112 took England to the brink of victory.
Suljovic fired a 98 to keep the match alive, but Smith sealed victory on double eight in the next leg.
“I felt the biggest buzz I’ve had since Worlds,” Humphries he told Sky Sports. “We really wanted this, we really believed we could win it. You have a cheat code, the No1 and No3 in the world on the court, it’s very difficult for everyone else, but after that first game we played and it clicked .”
Smith was full of praise for his team-mate Humphries, adding: “How good was that man in the final? He hit everything. [double] The tops were non-existent and every shot I left him, bam, bam, bam… thank you so much man, you just took the gold medal from me.”
What’s next on Sky Sports?
The 2024 Betfred World Matchplay will take place from 13 to 21 July at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. The iconic summer tournament will see 32 of the world’s top stars battle it out over nine days for the Phil Taylor Trophy and Β£800,000 in prize money.
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