Michael Smith may struggle to bully his way past Kevin Doets at the Paddy Power PDC World Darts Championship.
The titleholder will take on the Dutchman in the last portion of Friday's four-match slate at Alexandra Palace after 'Hawk Eye' beat Stowe Buntz 3-0 in the first fixture of the tournament. But darts fans are predicting a rough ride for the reigning champion based on Doets' display in his opener.
And that's after one fan suggested American Buntz had shown his nerves in front of a keen crowd in London, while his opponent looked cool and calm – then delivered. 'Neon Nightmare' certainly looked the part with a festive shirt and bright green trousers to usher in the festive season, not that it appeared to help him much early on.
"Stowe buntz is s******g himself here," wrote one social media user in response to Buntz going behind with back-to-back 3-1 losses in the first two sets. When another fan suggested Doets could upset Smith later on Friday, the same spectator responded: "Aye mate can 100% see Smith losing tonight."
'Bully' has been far from his usually high standards in recent months and struggled to build upon his World Championship win at the start of the year. That's opened up the discussion as to whether he might succumb to an early exit at Ally Pally.
And based on what they saw of Doets' unforgiving outing against Buntz, he may be the man to deliver it. The world No. 66 couldn't have looked a lot more assured in his tournament debut ahead of what's sure to be a testing curtain-raiser for Smith.
More to follow.
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