SMITH KEEPS IT REAL

 MICHAEL SMITH admits the wackiest moment of his reign as World Champ was being messaged by Real Madrid footie star Toni Kroos - while he was on the toilet!

Bully Boy begins the defence of his title against either Stowe Buntz or Kevin Doets at the Alexandra Palace tonight. 

But Smith, 33, revealed he is still stunned to receive the text from a World Cup hero. 

He said: “We were in Bahrain and it was straight after the Worlds. I was on the toilet.

"I literally got a text message off Real Madrid's Toni Kroos, asking if he could ring me and whether I'd go on his podcast.

“I nearly started crying. I screamed to my wife that I'd just got a text message off Toni Kroos.

“She replied, ‘Who the f*** is Toni Kroos?' My son Junior was going, ‘No you haven’t!’

“I said, ‘No, look’ and I showed him the message. That was probably one of the weirdest things I've experienced this year.

“And he still texts me now, asking about darts and stuff. Just getting to speak to someone like him was unreal.

“He’s probably one of the best midfielders you're ever going to see."

Kroos, who won the World Cup with Germany in 2014, had just watched Smith’s moment of history on January 3, 2023.

At the 12th attempt, Smith finally got his mitts on the Sid Waddell Trophy, beating Michael van Gerwen 7-4 including a magnificent nine-dart finish in set two.

It had been a long, hard struggle before that, Bully Boy losing eight of his nine PDC major TV finals.

Memorably he broke a bone in his left hand when he punched a cabinet in anger as he lost to MVG in the 2019 world final.

For too long he had seen the word “bottler” on social media after he had missed out on silverware.

He hit back at the online trolls in April, posting an image of himself smoking a cigar and relaxing in a Jacuzzi on a trip to Las Vegas with his wife Dagmara and some mates.

In a post that has had 2.2MILLION views, the caption simply said: “World No 1, world champion and now life. Completed it mate #topG.”

Smith said: “If I win the Worlds again this year, I'll do it again. I literally live my life with no regrets.

"It's just people who give me stick, who are jealous or are looking for you to bite.

“I'm not fussed. I was enjoying myself, I was having fun.

“That 'completed it' line was because it had been my dream from when I was younger, to be the world No 1 and world champion.”

His form since that magical night in North London has been patchy and he has only reached two stage finals in front of fans.

Asked how he will feel returning to the Palace, Smith replied: “I'm always nervous the day before I drive up to Ally Pally.

“It's only when the MC John McDonald shouts out my name that the nerves disappear.

“When he does that, it's going to be exciting  and sad probably at the same time.

“Sad knowing that come the next tournament I could be introduced as a 'former world champion’.

“It would be nice to go into 2024 as a two-time, back-to-back world champion.

"The nerves tell me that I'm in love with the game  I love what I'm doing.

“It's part and parcel of any sport. You still get those nerves. It's like taking a penalty in the World Cup.

“You will still get them no matter how many times you've practised.”

Words By Phil Lanning.

Images by Taylor Lanning.