The World Matchplay takes place later this month, and it’s fair to say it’s going to be an incredible tournament.
Darts has perhaps never been this competitive, and the format of this tournament and the seedings has led to some incredible first-round draws.
Michael van Gerwen vs Luke Littler is one of the standout draws from the first-round, but according to defending champion, Nathan Aspinall, there’s a first-round fixture that is even more exciting.
Gary Anderson vs Michel Smith more exciting than Michael van Gerwen vs Luke Littler
Speaking at the draw, Nathan Aspinall spoke about some of the games that had been picked out.
The Asp stated that while he was excited to see Mighty Mike face The Nuke, he’s more intrigued by the idea of Gary Anderson playing Michael Smith because of the respective players’ history with one another.
“Yeah there’s some brutal draws. Oh my god. MVG vs Luke and for me Gary vs Mike is probably the better one because of the history those two have got. It’s amazing, there are some fantastic first-round ties,” Aspinall said.
“Has the defending champion ever played on Sunday afternoon? Some fantastic Saturday night games there.”
Gary Anderson vs Michael Smith will be incredible
Anderson vs Smith may well be the game of the tournament – and it’s happening in round one.
Smith and Anderson have a long history with one another – Bully Boy is The Flying Scotsman’s protégé, and this clash is much fresher than Van Gerwen vs Littler.
With the way the Premier League now works, we’ve already seen Van Gerwen face Littler on umpteen occasions in recent months, while Anderson hasn’t played each other in a major TV event since the 2022 Premier League season.
Both games will be incredible, but, as Aspinall says, Smith vs Anderson may actually be the more exciting tie.