A tearful Michael Smith felt unable to celebrate booking his spot in the Premier League play-offs after beating Nathan Aspinall to do so.
Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen had already booked their place at the 02 showpiece event prior to the final Premier League night of the season.
The final spot was up for grabs between Smith and Aspinall and they were drawn to face each other in the first round in Sheffield.
The darts pair are close friends and recently travelled to Las Vegas together, setting up a fascinating tie.
Michael Smith was in tears after the match
SKYSPORTS
There was nothing to separate them early in the match until Smith checked out with an incredible 163 to move in control.
A 132 checkout followed in the decisive leg as Smith secured the win to progress to the Premier League play-offs.
The 2023 world champion was left in tears on stage and struggled to recompose himself as he spoke to Sky Sports after.
“I am crying more than I did when I won the Worlds,” Smith said.
“Playing Nathan 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.”
Michael Smith felt sorry for Nathan Aspinall
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Aspinall suffered a similar result in last year’s Premier League campaign as he missed out on a play-off spot in the final week.
The 32-year-old needed to beat Gerwyn Price at last year’s final Premier League night, but lost 6-3 to the Welshman.
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Nathan Aspinall will miss out on the play-offs
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Luke Littler secured top spot in the table with his win over Peter Wright earlier in the night.
The teenager showed his talents once again as he hit tops three times to checkout 120 and send the crowd wild.
The play-offs will take place next week at The 02 arena on May 23.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
