Darts star Michael Smith has announced his withdrawal from the upcoming Players Championships following the death of his dog, Luna.The 2023 world champion took to Instagram to reveal the heartbreaking sudden loss of his beloved husky.Smith made the sad announcement on TuesdayGetty“What a whirlwind last 2 hours,” Smith posted. “Our girl come in to the living room taken one look at us all and then laying down and taking a turn. Racing to the vets she sadly passed and left us.“We’re all going to miss you Luna. We’re absolutely heartbroken. But now you can be back in that field in the sky with your man orca. Run free girl.”Smith subsequently confirmed that he would be pulling out of Tuesday’s Players Championships 19 in Milton Keynes and Wednesday’s Players Championships 20.Explaining his decision, Smith added: “As you can see by my post we’re all heartbroken over our girl. So I didn’t even have to think about it long that I won’t be playing in MK this week as I’ll be staying home and taking care of my family.”The 35-year-old from St Helens recently reached his first Players Championship final in over two years, losing to Beau Greaves.The Players Championships accounts for much of the competitive action players see during the year, running across 34 rounds.The Players Championship Finals take place in Minehead at the end of November, with the World Championship getting underway in mid-December.Smith has recorded 11 Players Championships wins to date, with the most recent of them coming in 2024.Since beating Michael van Gerwen to win the World Championship three years ago, Smith has struggled to recapture the form that took him towards the top of the game’s rankings.Currently ranked number 32 in the world, Smith has not reached a major final since 2024, when he finished as runner-up to reigning world champion Luke Littler in the World Series of Darts Finals.Smith has recently struggled with injuries tooRexWhile he’s still well on course to qualify automatically for the World Championship, he runs the risk of missing out on the year’s next major tournament, July’s World Matchplay – which features only 32 players.The ‘Bully Boy’ has been blighted by arthritis and other injury problems in recent years but continues to compete on the PDC tour.Speaking in January last year, Smith explained the story behind his injury struggles.He said: “I broke both my wrists when I was 19 and now it’s catching up with me and now suffering with arthritis to my right hand. This isn’t sympathy or a cry for help. This is letting you all in to it. I’ve never given up or stopped from any pain.“I played a World final with a broken hand. I made a UK Open final with a hole in my groin. I’ve won Pro Tours and Euros with problems with my ankle.”Smith was last in action at the Players Championships 18 last month, where he lost 6-5 on legs to the Netherlands’ Alexander Merkx.