World Grand Prix semi-finals: Michael van Gerwen v Daryl Gurney & Peter Wright Mensur Suljovic

Four of the top six players on planet darts will contest in Friday night's World Grand Prix semi-finals including a blockbuster between the world No 1 and the defending champion.

When the PDC descended on the outskirts of Dublin just over a week ago, the consensus was that Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwen would be ducking out for the big prize but only one of those men has made it through.

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Standing in Van Gerwen's way of a fourth Grand Prix title is Daryl Gurney, the defending champion, who hasn't quite been the darling of the Dublin crowd again but has accounted for Anderson with a spellbinding display on Friday.

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The other semi-final has featured the two men who continue to fly under the radar, but for all their consistency could do with a second big tournament victory.

World No 2 Peter Wright has been the most vocal this week in making sure that it's not all about the 'big two' and he will face Mensur Suljovic, the Austrian whose infectious love of the game and winning have made him a real fan favourite.

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The pair played out a thrilling Matchplay semi-final a few months ago, met in the quarter-finals here last year and with a place in the final at stake to quote Wayne Mardle Friday night's opening should be another "brahma".

Four top players, two intriguing semi-finals, we run the rule over the contenders for the title

Michael van Gerwen

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MvG has looked every inch the best player in the world, irked by talk that the mantle may belong to Anderson, he has seemed a man on a mission all week and has dropped just a single set.

Anderson has swept up most of the big TV titles this year prompting the debate while the Premier League crown is the glistening bauble in Van Gerwen's 17 titles across the Tour this year.

The Dutchman looked magnificent in beating a hugely impressive Dave Chisnall in one of the best matches this tournament has seen and he remains the favourite to take a fourth title and continue the pattern of winning every other year since his first major here in 2012

In his own words... "Dave played a phenomenal game, I think it was the best game ever seen in Dublin. There's still a long way to go - I want to win this title, it's as simple as that."

Daryl Gurney

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An emotional Superchin sunk to his knees almost a year ago to the day beating Simon Whitlock to claim a first major title.

That run came on the back of a season of consistency that had him down as a contender. By his own admission Gurney has not quite had the same year, but on the eve of the tournament he told The Darts Show podcast that he felt he was not far away.

And so it has proved as he stretched his winning run at the Citywest Hotel to reach a sixth major semi-final in less than three years courtesy of a thrilling win over Anderson that featured a few words from an out of sorts Flying Scotsman.

One note of caution for Gurney, he has won just two of the 19 meetings between in the seven contests they have played this year, his best performance was a Premier League draw in April.

In his own words… "To beat Gary 3-0 in any competition is very flattering. To beat a player of his calibre you have to be on top of your game all the way through and I was."

Peter Wright

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It still seems remarkable that Snakebite has just the one major title, victory over Gerwyn Price to claim the UK Open last year stands out among a plethora of Tour titles.

Seven defeats in major finals though does need to be addressed if as he says, he wants to be taken seriously and Suljovic seems to get under his skin - Wright will have to put Champions League, Matchplay and Premier League defeats this season to the Austrian behind him if he is to progress.

Wright's combination finishing has been impressive and once he got going against James Wilson he was hard to stop but consistency, usually the watchword for Wright, was patchy against Wilson and he will hope the form that has made him the No 2 ranked player in the world.

Looking ahead he does seem to have the recipe for victories over Van Gerwen with three wins from their last five encounters but he will need to get there first.

In his own words…."Apparently this is all about Michael and Gary - it feels like sometimes we are not invited to the party but I am going to gatecrash that party, I will be there in the final."

Mensur Suljovic

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The Gentle has risen to six in the world rankings and is there on merit too. Having missed the UK Open he has semi-finals at the Masters and Champions League under his belt as well as defeat in a thrilling Matchplay final to Anderson.

Wayne Mardle describes him as a menace and he means it in the nicest possible way as the Austrian is consistently a major factor on the big stage as well as the Pro and European Tours, winning German Darts Masters and Danish Open this year.

Victory in the 2017 Champions League has been his biggest title to date and he seems to have Snakebite's number, winning all five meetings between the pair this year and seven of their last eight contests.

In his own words... "It is a brilliant being in the semi-finals, I think the double-in double-out format is my tournament. I kept telling myself 'never give up' and that is why I won and the crowd were fantastic."

Coverage of the World Grand Prix continues on Friday night with both semi-finals, join us on Sky Sports Action from 7pm.

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Darts season is in full swing and continues on Sky Sports with the Grand Slam of Darts in November and the World Championships which get underway from the iconic Alexandra Palace on December 13