Premier League "killed" Michael Smith for 18 months but it's the "one you want to be in"

Michael Smith lost to Peter Wright in the World Championship final at Ally Pally earlier this month. He is seeded for the Ladbrokes Masters and will play Krzysztof Ratajski or Gabriel Clemens in second round. Smith has reached the final of the event once before.

Smith finished 10th in his debut season in the Premier League. He is the fifth favourite for the Masters tournament in Milton Keynes this weekend. He wants to be in it not only to play on TV but also because everyone knows his name. Raymond Smith made the quarter-finals of the world championship. His friend Gary Anderson used to get recognised by people who recognised him from the TV. Smith doesn't care about fame. The Premier league is bigger than the World Championship. It's the biggest. Ladbrokes have him as the 5th favourite. They have also put him down as 5-1 for this tournament.