Michael Smiths victory over Nathan Aspinall secured him the final place at Finals Night; Watch the Premier League Finals Night on Thursday May 23 as Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith battle for victory - live on Sky Sports
Friday 17 May 2024 09:36, UK
Michael Smith was victorious on Night 16 in Sheffield after a 6-3 win against Luke Humphries, sealing his play-off spot at London's O2 in style.
The nightly win wrapped up a big night for Smith after his straight shoot-out against Aspinall in the quarter-finals, which he won 6-3, for the final spot in the play-offs.
Luke Littler, Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Smith will now face off at Finals Night at London's O2 Arena on Thursday May 23, live on Sky Sports.
Littler will face Smith and Humphries will face Van Gerwen when the Play-Offs get under way in a best-of-19 legs shoot-out.
Although good friends, Smith and Aspinall were competitors in a crunch quarter-final in Sheffield, a 136 finish and bull-bull-D16 132 finish the key moments as 'Bully Boy' sealed a 6-3 victory.
The St Helens man was clinical on the doubles throughout, the break of throw in the eighth leg putting Smith on the front foot.
Smith was emotional after his win, admitting he was overjoyed to make Finals Night but sad to see his friend knocked out so cruelly.
"I am crying more than I did when I won the Worlds," Smith said. "Playing Nathan [Aspinall] there, he was outscoring me.
"I wasn't playing well at all and then I hit that 136 and then the 132 and I just knew that would have hurt him.
"I was like. 'kick on now' and I wanted to do cartwheels, backflips, everything but because it was Nathan I had to keep it calm and collected and apologise to him.
"I do feel sorry for him because I want him there as well as me so that was really hard."
Smith then took out leader Littler with a 6-5 victory in the last-leg decider.
In a game littered with breaks of throw, Smith came from 4-1 down to claim the win, a 156 and 120 for one of the breaks the key legs as he pinned D10 for his spot in the final.
Smith, although feeling the effects of an emotional night, stayed resolute in the final to deny Humphries the chance of clinching a record fifth nightly win in the Premier League.
Despite Humphries reeling in the 'Big Fish', Smith took four legs in a row and a big 140 checkout for the 6-3 win, a big confidence booster heading into a big night at the O2.
"To get another win, it does feel really good," said Smith after the win.
"After that first week, I think I was on 10 points after three weeks.
"It wasn't until week 10 or 11 I made a final. It was one of those hard things.
"The last couple of weeks I really pushed through and now I am at the O2.
"I have never cried that much."
Littler sealed top spot in the Premier League with his 6-4 victory over Peter Wright in the quarter-finals.
The 17-year-old's highlight came as he found a tops-tops-tops finish for the vital break of throw, cementing himself as the man to beat heading into Finals Night.
It brought an end to a tough campaign for 'Snakebite' who only found two victories over the 16 weeks.
Humphries also cruised to a sensational 6-3 victory over Van Gerwen to lock his spot in the final.
After going 2-0 up, Humphries then found a brilliant 142 checkout and 12-darter for 3-0.
'The Green Machine' fought back to bring the match to 5-3 but with Humphries firing in maximums for fun, he took out D16 for a place to face Smith.
Humphries' night started with a slick and fast-paced encounter as he rallied for a 6-4 victory over Gerwyn Price.
Although Price was the man on top, going 3-1 up and averaging over 125 in multiple legs, the world No 1 fought hard and got himself back into the game, a crucial break of throw helping him to the win.
In the final quarter-final, Van Gerwen fought back incredibly to seal a 6-4 victory over Rob Cross, taking four legs in a row after going 4-1 down.
Cross had won the last three matches between the pair but Van Gerwen was scoring well and averaging well into the hundreds, two breaks of throw helping him clinch the win and third spot in the table.
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