Michael van Gerwen thrashed Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-0 to set up a final with Michael Smith, who defeated Gabriel Clemens 6-2; Watch the World Darts Championship final live on Tuesday from 7.45pm on Sky Sports Darts
Tuesday 3 January 2023 20:14, UK
Michael van Gerwen insists “nobody is going to stop him” from securing a fourth World Darts Championship title after a dominant semi-final victory over Dimitri Van den Bergh.
Van Gerwen struck a 108.28 average during a 6-0 thrashing of the Belgian at the Alexandra Palace, setting up a blockbuster showdown against fourth seed Michael Smith in a repeat of the 2019 final.
The Dutchman will make his sixth appearance in the final and first since beating Smith 7-3 in 2019, with Van Gerwen confident of further success against the reigning Grand Slam champion.
"He's not going to stop me - nobody is going to stop me!" Van Gerwen told Sky Sports. "I feel too good for that. I feel comfortable, I feel good and I'm playing some good darts.
"It feels phenomenal to have played the game I played tonight [against Van den Bergh]. It means a lot to me, I gave it everything and I'm playing out of my skin at the moment. It costs so much energy, but I'm able to do it.
"I think the crowd deserves a final like this. Myself against Michael Smith in the final I think is good for darts."
Van den Bergh exchanged words with the former world No 1 during the third set of his convincing victory, with the Belgian seemingly unhappy about where his opponent was positioned, although Van Gerwen responded immediately by landing a 170 finish in the same leg.
"I don't really know what his problem was, but you have to concentrate yourself towards your own game and that's exactly what I did," Van Gerwen explained. "Games can get tense but you need to focus yourself and that is exactly what I did. He probably said I was overstepping but he was losing the game so he had to say something!"
Smith believes he has found the "winning mentality" in his game as he looks to make it third time lucky and secure an elusive maiden World Darts Championship title.
The Englishman was beaten by Van Gerwen in 2019 and lost 7-5 in last year's climax against Peter Wright, although has another chance to become darts' next world champion after a successful 6-2 semi-final victory over Gabriel Clemens.
'Bully Boy' fired a brilliant 101.85 average in a stunning display, including 19 maximums and five ton-plus checkouts, with the 32-year-old now just a victory over Van Gerwen away from the biggest title of his career and a rise to the top of the world rankings.
"Michael is the odds-on favourite and he has played really well, but everyone can have a bad day and hopefully it comes tomorrow [Tuesday]," Smith said.
"If I do get darts to win the Worlds, if I miss it, I miss it, if I hit it, I am World Champion. I will never dwell on it and I will keep coming back fighting every year. I stepped up when I needed to and hopefully tomorrow [Tuesday] I will step up again.
Smith added: "I just need to play my game. I played Michael in the US Masters and won there, I played Michael in ProTour event and won there, but he has also beaten me so neither of us have got a 100 per cent record. It's a world final, it's not the first round of a ProTour event in Barnsley or in Wigan! I've got to put him under pressure."
The Englishman has impressed throughout the past 12 months, enjoyed successes at the US Darts Masters, the Dutch Darts Championship and three Players Championship titles before claiming his first televised ranking title at the ninth attempt with victory at November's Grand Slam of Darts.
"I think I've had this belief since I've started playing but it [winning the Grand Slam of Darts] has given me something extra!" Smith added. "It has finally put me one out of nine [TV titles] and it has given me the belief that I'm going to win.
"The winning feeling and the winning mentality is finally coming to my game. I'm not going to shy around it - I've not played well in this event. I've had a couple of good games, I've played well tonight but I'm finding a way to win and that's what champions do - they find a way to win."
Smith and Van Gerwen can both end Tuesday's final as world No 1, with Sky Sports' Wayne Mardle backing the Englishman to give the three-time world champion a tougher challenge than he did four years ago.
"He [Smith] is a better player than 2019," Mardle said. "I believe that. He is now a major champion and champions find a way. The way he has come through some of his games was very, very good.
"He [Smith] has been in a lot of positions and now he is in the ultimate position and that is the chance to be World Champion. I think with the way they have both scored this evening, tomorrow [Tuesday] could be a double-hitting competition.
"If you take Michael Smith from the Joe Cullen win and tonight's win, that can trouble Van Gerwen but he has to pick his time. The time has to be right. I thought there was two (who could stop Van Gerwen) at the start. I thought there was Gerwyn Price and Michael Smith and one of them is in the final.
"The irony of it all is that, Michael Smith has waited all this time for a final then wins two on the bounce. I think it could be one of the best finals, fingers crossed, that we have ever seen."
Who will win the PDC World Darts Championship? Watch the final live on Tuesday from 7.45pm on Sky Sports Darts!
