MICHAEL SMITH claims he doesn’t care if doubters talk behind his back or “disrespect” him.
Because the 2023 darts world champion reckons he has a CV impressive enough for any job application.
The world No2 shrugged off his patchy form this year to beat Mensur Suljovic 5-2 in his Grand Slam of Darts opener.
Smith, 34, won the tournament two years ago, so he has huge prize money to defend in Wolverhampton, as well as his ranking.
And despite the scoreline, his Austrian rival proved as tough as expected.
Smith eventually triumphed, also notching a useful plus-3 leg difference in his group.
The St Helens star reckoned a 96 checkout with two double 19s helped to break Suljovic.
He said: “I think the 96 changed the match.
“It felt good. Felt like hard work, but I felt good overall.”
And having won 17 Pro Tour titles, Smith insists one look at his record is the perfect response to critics.
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He said: “They can disrespect me as much as they want, they can talk behind my back, whatever.
“But at the end of the day, if I was applying for a new job and I got to write my CV, you’d see all the titles I’ve won and you’d see how much I’ve done in this game.”
But Smith’s workmanlike success was overshone by Luke Littler’s spectacular Slam debut.
The Nuke, 17, dispatched 22-year-old Irishman Keane Barry 5-0 in SIX MINUTES.
Littler averaged 112.16 and said: “It was a very good performance. I’ve been practising very well.”
