5,527 punters land 11/1 shot as Michael Smith nails nine-dart leg

Our 11/1 Bet Boost landed as Michael Smith produced tungsten perfection in a historic leg of darts at Alexandra Palace.

Smith’s sensational nine-darter in the 2023 World Darts Championship final came at a price to bet365, as over 5,000 customers backed the BOOSTED perfect leg at odds of 11/1.

The tournament had been packed full of excitement, drama, shocks and a record number of 180s during the festive and New Year period, but there had surprisingly not been a nine-dart finish – despite a number of agonisingly close calls.

However, there was a sense that there could be magic in the air with two of the most prolific scorers in the game colliding in the capital, and so it proved, as they played out what will long be perceived as the greatest leg of darts of all time in set number two.

Smith and Michael van Gerwen, the big pre-match odds-on favourite, went toe-to-toe in the third leg of the set, landing maximums with each of their first two visits, before the Dutchman proved equally as accurate with arrows seven and eight, only to then land his double 12 attempt just above the wire.

It set the stage for the new world number one to return to the oche and nail treble 20 and treble 19, and then compose himself sufficiently to pin double 12 with perfect precision to send the 2,500 plus crowd inside Alexandra Palace’s West Hall into absolute delirium.

bet365’s Steve Freeth said: “I think it’s fair to say that we may have witnessed the best leg of darts of all time, and what a stage to do it on – the World Championship final!

“It’s absolutely remarkable to think that customers who backed the market at the boosted price had two opportunities for their bet to come in during the same leg. It’s simply unheard of.

“When MVG just wired his double 12 attempt you wondered whether Michael Smith could go one better and become the first player to produce darting perfection in this year’s championship, and he certainly didn’t disappoint, even if it did mean that we took a hit.”

View all available Bet Boosts here
 

World Darts Championship Nine-Dart Finishes:

January 1990 - Paul Lim (v Jack McKenna)
January 2009 - Raymond van Barneveld (v Jelle Klaasen)
December 2009 - Raymond van Barneveld (v Brendan Dolan)
January 2011 - Adrian Lewis (v Gary Anderson)
December 2012 - Dean Winstanley (v Vincent van der Voort)
December 2012 - Michael van Gerwen (v James Wade)
December 2013 - Terry Jenkins (v Per Laursen)
December 2013 - Kyle Anderson (v Ian White)
December 2014 - Adrian Lewis (v Raymond van Barneveld)
January 2016 - Gary Anderson (v Jelle Klaasen)
December 2021 - William Borland (v Bradley Brooks)
December 2021 - Darius Labanauskas (v Mike De Decker)
December 2021 - Gerwyn Price (v Michael Smith)
January 2023 - Michael Smith (v Michael van Gerwen)

Mark Mothershaw

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