PDC world darts: Van Gerwen wins spiky encounter to set up final with Smith

Michael van Gerwen produced a ruthless display to thrash Belgium’s Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-0 and set up a PDC world championship final showdown with Michael Smith.

The three-times former champion won 18 of 22 legs in an occasionally spiky but ultimately one-sided semi-final and will face Smith in a rerun of the 2019 final, when the Dutchman won 7-3. The winner on Tuesday night at Alexandra Palace will also replace Gerwyn Price as the No 1 player in the world rankings.

Playing in his first world championship semi-final, Van den Bergh stunned his opponent with a 170 checkout in the third leg – but Van Gerwen powered through the next two legs to take the first set regardless. The pre-match favourite built on that momentum to reel off the next three legs, breaking the Belgian twice to go 2-0 up.

Van Gerwen extended his winning run to eight legs as he won a tense third set, where Van den Bergh repeatedly delayed his throw and appeared to suggest that Van Gerwen was encroaching behind him. After a brief verbal exchange, the Dutchman’s response was to fire in a 170 checkout of his own and take total control of the match.

Van Den Bergh ended the run of lost legs in the fourth set and hit another big checkout with a 121 – but after Van Gerwen missed three set darts, the outsider could not take a rare opportunity at double top and fell 4-0 down. The match felt over as a contest, and Van Gerwen raced through the final two sets against little resistance.

“It feels phenomenal,” Van Gerwen told Sky Sports after hitting nine 180s with an average of 108.28. “I don’t know what his problem was, but you have to focus on your own game,” he said of the third-set exchange. “He was losing the game, so he had to say something.”

In the earlier semi-final, Smith withstood the challenge of Germany’s Gabriel Clemens, pulling clear after the first two sets were shared to win 6-2. Smith averaged 103.79 and landed five 100-plus checkouts to end the challenge of Clemens, who had stunned Price in a dramatic, controversial quarter-final on Sunday.

Both players hit the ground running in the first set, but Smith took it 3-2 and broke Clemens’ throw to open the second set. The No 4 seed faltered, though, missing four set darts as Clemens levelled the match. Smith edged ahead in the third set with a 144 checkout, then pinned double 20 to take the set after both players missed doubles.

Michael Smith reached his third PDC world final with a 6-2 win over Gabriel Clemens. Photograph: Luke Walker/Getty Images

Smith, known as “Bully Boy”, checked out 161 on the bull in the fourth set, but it was not enough to shake off Clemens, who held throw to make it two sets all, with all four sets going to the wire. Smith raced through the next 3-0, breaking throw in the second leg with a 100 checkout.

Both players’ form dipped in a nervy sixth set, but Smith took it 3-2 with a superb finish on the bull to move two sets clear for the first time. It proved the turning point, Clemens narrowly missing out on a 121 checkout as Smith extended his lead to 5-2.

Smith sensed his moment to strike at 1-1 in the eighth set, checking out 81 to break throw. Clemens still would not admit defeat and roared ahead in the next leg – but three missed darts to level the set allowed Smith to steal in and secure the win.

“I told myself I had to step up [tonight], and luckily I did,” Smith said afterwards, before reflecting on his improvement since defeat to Van Gerwen in the 2019 final. “I’ve got better mentally [since then] … I want to win, and do everything I can – I’ll never give up. I want to get revenge!”

The Dutchman, who will begin as the favourite as he seeks a fourth title and to return to world No 1, replied in kind. “He’s not going to stop me, I feel comfortable, I feel good,” Van Gerwen said. “Me against Michael – the crowd deserves a final like this.”