12 December 2023 , 08:31
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The 2024 PDC World Darts Championship will get underway on Friday as Michael Smith prepares to defend his title after his stunning victory a year ago.
Smith, 33, beat Michael van Gerwen 7-4 in the final at Alexandra Palace to claim his first ever world title, having been a beaten finalist twice beforehand. In the process, Smith collected a winner's payment of £500,000 and also moved to the top of the PDC Order of Merit, which is based on the amount of prize money earned (£1.2million) over the two years prior.
However, despite Smith's influx of cash at that point in time, ex-darts star Paul Nicholson warned that life on the circuit was not as lucrative as some fans might think. Speaking following Smith's historic title win, Nicholson, who won the Players' Championship in 2010, outlined how tough being a darts player actually is.
He told Sporting Life : "Let's get one thing straight right away, being a dart player is not as luxurious as people think. Sure, there are those big pay days and great moments where you think 'yes, this is what I want to do for the next 20 years' but ultimately there are times where you think 'all I do is play darts, travel, pack suitcases and practice when I get home'."
Smith, Peter Wright and van Gerwen all claimed over £1m in PDC ranking events during 2021 and 2022, which was in addition to their sponsorship agreements and exhibition appearance fees. But Nicholson opened up on the hidden expenses which take away from their winnings. He said: "They might have ‘won’ millions during their career but it doesn’t mean they have a million sitting in their bank accounts right now!"
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"From my own experience, I gave my manager 20 percent of all my income from sponsorships and exhibition work," added Nicholson. "The range of exhibition payments I’ve heard players earn in my career is anything from £250 to £20,000.
Michael Smith lifted the PDC World Darts Championship last year (Getty Images)"For one night. But just to be clear, that latter amount is an extreme example if the promotion is significantly big and held in a large arena like one in Budapest recently which had around 7000 fans in attendance."
The 2024 tournament will get underway on Friday with three first round ties set to take place. Kevin Doets and Stowe Buntz go head-to-head, while Cameron Menzies is set to face Rusty-Jake Rodriguez and Simon Whitlock goes up against Paolo Nebrida. Defending champion Smith is also in action, as he takes to the oche in round two against the winner of Doets and Buntz earlier in the evening.
Meanwhile, four-time champion van Gerwen is not in action until next Tuesday when he faces the winner of Keane Barry and Reynaldo Rivera in round two. Gerwyn Price, Luke Humphries, Gary Anderson, Wright and James Wade are among the other big-hitters who will take centre stage this month.