How it unfolded
Michael Smith, from St Helens, had lost the 2019 final to Michael van Gerwen and the 2022 final to Peter Wright, and carried a reputation for failing to finish on the biggest stage. A single leg in the second set of the 2023 final erased that reputation. Van Gerwen threw 180 and 180 first, leaving 141, hit treble 20 and treble 19, then narrowly missed the double 12 that would have completed a nine-darter. Smith responded immediately with 180, 180 for the same 141, followed treble 20 and treble 19 with a precise double 12 to close out 501 in nine darts himself. Two players chasing perfect legs in the same leg had never been recorded before. Smith stayed composed afterward and won 7-4 to take his first world title at 32. It was only the second nine-darter ever thrown in a World Championship final, after Adrian Lewis in 2011.
Why it still matters
This is the most replayed leg in darts history, and it showed how far scoring standards had risen. Two players hitting six consecutive treble 20s in the same leg and both going for a 141 finish would have been unimaginable in the 1990s. At the same time, this match became the case that proved a reputation for crumbling on the big stage can be overturned by a single leg.