Smith beat Van Gerwen in the epic 2023 World Championship final but was dropped by the PDC for this year's Premier League as his ranking points dropped off.
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN hit out at the Premier League line-up and insisted it "could have been stronger".
Van Gerwen - a seven-time Premier League winner - kicked off the new 2025 campaign by beating Luke Littler in their quarter-final.
On his Premier League snub, he added: "The biggest thing now is obviously being left out of the Premier League.
The Dutchman then lost to Luke Humphries before the 2024 world champ downed Chris Dobey 6-1 in a one-sided final.