Premier League Darts: Michael Smith beats Gerwyn Price to win opening night in Cardiff
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Gerwyn Price could only congratulate Michael Smith on his win in Cardiff
Michael Smith beat Gerwyn Price 6-2 to win the opening night of the 2024 Premier League Darts in Cardiff.
Smith beat Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler to reach the final at the Utilita Arena, despite whistles from the crowd adding a stain to the night.
Price beat Nathan Aspinall in his quarter-final before cruising past Rob Cross to reach the evening's final.
But England's Smith denied Welshman Price a second straight Premier League win in Cardiff.
Smith was angered by whistles from some of the crowd during his semi-final against 17-year-old Littler, but said the teenager was an even bigger draw than the legendary Phil Taylor.
Price won the first leg of the final, but Smith took a hold of the game to storm into a 5-1 lead before the home favourite won just his second leg.
Smith missed two match darts in the eighth leg before sealing a one-sided final to earn the maximum five points.
Seven-time winner Van Gerwen said before the competition he was "still the player to beat", but he lost in his quarter-final against Smith in a sloppy deciding leg.
Smith also won in a deciding leg against Littler who was clearly the favourite with the crowd.
"I actually thought in the semi-final Luke Littler was Welsh," said Smith, the 2023 world champion.
"It's going to be every week, it doesn't matter where it is.
"Everyone's fallen in love with him. He's even bigger than Phil Taylor who won 16 world titles, Luke is the most popular thing in darts."
Littler had beaten Luke Humphries in a quarter-final which was a rematch of the 2024 PDC World Championship final.
This time Littler got the better of Humphries, an outcome which looked likely early into their match as the 17-year-old twice broke the world champion on the way to a 6-2 win.
Littler averaged 100.30 against Humphries, and backed that up with a 105.31 average against Smith - the highest of the evening.
But it was not enough for the Bahrain Masters winner on his Premier League debut, as he missed one dart at double 15 to win the game before Smith snatched victory.
Michael Smith responded to disruptive members of the Cardiff crowd by whistling back at those who tried to put him off during his semi-final win against Luke Littler
'Whistling is not the best' - Smith
Smith appeared visibly annoyed at the Cardiff crowd after his semi-final win, putting his finger to his lips to quieten the crowd, who had also directed whistles at Humphries in the quarter-finals.
After the final 'Bully Boy' said the majority of the crowd at the Utilita Arena "were amazing", but described the whistling by one of two fans during crucial moments as "disgusting".
"Whistling is not the best, but it happens in any sport," said Smith.
"How do you stop it? It happens and it's up to the sportsperson to get on with the job."
Humphries missed a dart at double 16 to pull a leg back in his defeat against Littler, after a whistle as he began his throwing motion.
He said on X (formerly Twitter): "So sorry tonight guys. Was so looking forward to playing in the amazing city of Cardiff.
"I was gutted with the whistling, but I know that I have to learn to get better at that."
And darts commentator Dan Dawson also criticised members of the audience who distracted players, posting on social media: "If you're sat next to someone whistling, point them out to security - and also tell them from me they're idiots."
Luke Littler: The only name on everyone's lips
Price found himself two legs down against Aspinall to start the night, but soon bounced back and looked back to his best at moments as he comfortably beat Cross 6-2 in the semi-final.
Cross had beaten Peter Wright 6-3 in his quarter-final, with 'Snakebite' one of several players sporting Welsh dragons or colours on their shirts in an attempt to win over the Cardiff crowd.
The Premier League eight travel to Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Germany next week for the second night of this 17-week competition.
Smith tops the table on five points, two ahead of Price, with losing semi-finalists Cross and Littler a further point behind on two.
Wright, Aspinall, Van Gerwen and current world champion Humphries will be looking to get their first points on the board in Germany next Thursday after quarter-final defeats in Cardiff.