Michael Smith insists he ‘owes everything’ to his Grand Slam of Darts success last year, as the world number one prepares to defend his crown in Wolverhampton.
The Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts will take place at the WV Active Aldersley from November 11-19, with reigning champion Smith one of three former champions in this year's 32-player field.
Smith celebrated his maiden TV ranking success in last year’s decider, dispatching Nathan Aspinall 16-5 to clinch the coveted Eric Bristow Trophy on an emotional night in the West Midlands.
The 33-year-old then capped off a memorable spell by lifting the World Darts Championship title in January, sealed with a famous victory over Michael van Gerwen.
“I think I owe everything to the Grand Slam,” revealed Smith, who returns to Wolverhampton as the number one seed.
“I don’t even think I would have had darts to win the World Championship without that Grand Slam win last year.
“I had been in eight major finals before the Grand Slam, but I managed to get over the line and that gave me the confidence to go one step further [at Alexandra Palace].”
The Grand Slam of Darts has been a happy hunting ground for Smith throughout his career, after he made his televised breakthrough at this event with a semi-final appearance in 2015.
The St Helens star also boasts an astonishing record in the round-robin phase, having won his last 16 group stage matches in Wolverhampton, in a record dating back to 2017.
Van Gerwen holds the tournament record with 20 consecutive group stage victories, although Smith can close that gap further if he completes a clean sweep in Group A this year.
Smith will kick off his campaign against 2022 World Youth Championship finalist Nathan Girvan, with further ties against three-time runner-up James Wade and Poland’s number one Krzysztof Ratajski to follow.
“Over the last five or six years the Grand Slam has been very kind to me," admitted the World Champion, who has made at least the quarter-finals in the last four editions of the Grand Slam.
"I think I’ve gone unbeaten in the group in the last five years, but I’ve probably jinxed that now!
“I’m really looking forward to getting back there. Hopefully I can deliver again this year and go back-to-back.”
Smith is without a premier televised ranking title since his World Championship exploits, despite winning January’s Bahrain Darts Masters along with a European Tour title and a Players Championship triumph.
He also featured in May's Premier League semi-finals, succumbing to Van Gerwen at London's O2, before losing out to Gerwyn Price at the same stage of last month's World Grand Prix.
“2023 has been the best year of my life so far,” insisted the former World Youth Champion.
“I believe it will happen again [becoming World Champion] but if it didn’t, I didn’t want to look back with regrets, so I’ve just chosen to enjoy being the World Champion and world number one.
“I’ve not been anywhere near my best this year, but I’ve still made quarter-finals and semi-finals in most of the TV events, and now I know when I am in that position again, I’ve got to work even harder.
"I feel like it's coming now. Every year I seem to have a poor run between August and September, and then I seem to come back into my own at the start of November.
“I think I proved that the Grand Slam win [last year] wasn’t a one-hit wonder after winning the World Championship, but it would mean everything to retain my title this year.”
The Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).
You can read the full exclusive interview with Michael in the official 2023 Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts programme.