SMITH WORLD MATCHPLAY SNUB CALLS TO ALTER PDC RANKING SYSTEM
15/07/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
MICHAEL SMITH’S shock World Matchplay snub could force changes to the PDC rankings system.
‘Bully Boy’ shot to the top by winning the World Championship in 2023, succeeding in an epic final against Michael Van Gerwen.
But the St Helens thrower had £485,000 wiped off his winnings from the rankings after a 3-2 defeat against Kevin Doets in the second round of the tournament this year.
Two-time major winner Smith plummeted outside of the top 10 and has now failed to qualify to compete at the Winter Gardens for the first time since 2013.
Former pro Mathew Edgar says the “madness” of the 34-year-old’s sudden slide from the summit shows the Werner Rankings Ladder system needs to be altered.
He said on the Edgar TV YouTube channel: “I still can’t believe this: two years ago, Michael Smith was the number one seed at the World Matchplay. Now, he’s not even in the event. How does that happen? It’s madness.
“The prize money from that run – where he reached the second round – is now coming off. He beat Steve Beaton 10-2, then lost a high-quality game 11-10 to Chris Dobey.
“That means £15,000 comes off Smith’s ranking, and that could drop him down to world number 23 by the end of this event.
“It could be even lower depending on results. Just let that sink in – from world number one to world number 23 in two years.
“There’s been a lot of talk about the rankings system and whether it’s quite right. This situation really highlights the issue – and we might see some changes coming.
“Glen Durrant’s talked about working with statisticians to present a new system to the PDC via the PDPA. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out.”
World No. 21 Smith has been struggling to deal with arthritis in both of his hands and has been suffering with a shoulder injury after a painful 22mph e-scooter crash which has affected his form over the past seven months.
Edgar has backed Smith to bounce back and return to the top 16 especially with record prize money on offer at Ally Pally later this year.
He added: “If you’re going to have a bad year, this is the one to do it, because prize money is going to change drastically over the next couple of years.
“That means you could have a bad year now and make it up with a good one next year.
“Michael Smith could definitely turn it around – he’s got the quality, a former world champion and multiple-time winner.
“He could easily get back into the top 16 next year with a form turnaround and the prize money cycle shifting.”
Image by Taylor Lanning.
