MICHAEL SMITH says his Ally Pally title bid is being motivated by a sick 12-year-old kid back home.
Bully Boy dedicated his first-round win over Lisa Ashton on night one to youngster Amelia, who played rugby union and league at junior level with one of his two boys.
The St Helens thrower has fallen on hard times over the past two years and has failed to recapture the form that saw him lift the Sid Waddell Trophy in nine-dart style in January 2023.
But Smith, 35, says he is being fired up to win in honour of a little pal.
Smith said: “She played a match last week and they found out something was wrong. At the minute, she’s got something wrong with her spleen.
“She went in after the match saying she had pain and it was like a lump coming up her back. It went to her neck.
“They didn’t know what it was and then they sent her home after two days.
“She’s gone back in with a big rash. Now she’s got to have 10 weeks away from rugby and she’s a boxer as well.
“If she hadn’t played that match she would never have known and, you never know, she could have ruptured her spleen.
“I’ve been texting her dad and her mum to see how she’s getting on and obviously sending her pictures.
“It’s a nice thing because I know she’s probably feeling rubbish at the minute.
“I was just trying to give her that little boost and I know she would have been watching me.
“It was just one of them, just give her a little shout out, hopefully pick her mood up a bit. She’s only 12. She shouldn’t be going through things like that.
“She’d be buzzing with that. Of course, it’s nice to have wee motivations like that.”
Smith – who is up against Dutchman Niels Zonneveld on Saturday night – lost in the second round 12 months ago and wants to banish those negative memories and not have cold turkey for Christmas.
The world No28 said: “If I win this, I’ll be back in all the tournaments next year, I’ll be No2 in the world, back in the World Series, stuff like that.
“If you have a bad tournament and get beat, I’ve had a bad year and then, the way the PDC is, I’d have 30 days until the season starts again.”
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