World Darts Championship 2022/23 | Semi-Finals preview and order of play
The final four aim to keep their World Darts Championship dream alive on Semi-Finals night at Alexandra Palace on Monday.
Ninety-six came, now only four remain in pursuit of the Sid Waddell Trophy and £500,000 top prize as they face off for a date with destiny.
The Last Four line-up includes three major title winners and a player enjoying an historic run to a first televised PDC ranking Semi-Final.
The opening match of the night sees reigning Grand Slam champion Michael Smith take on German superstar Gabriel Clemens.
Smith is bidding to go one better than a year ago when he finished runner-up to Peter Wright after leading 5-4 in the final, having also lost out to Michael van Gerwen in the 2019 final.
The world number four got off to the perfect start by whitewashing Nathan Rafferty in nine consecutive legs, before surviving a major scare from Martin Schindler as he battled back from 3-1 down to snatch a narrow 4-3 victory.
He then averaged 103.2 in a dominant 4-1 defeat of fellow Premier League star Joe Cullen, before fending off a late rally from Stephen Bunting on New Year’s Day to seal a 5-3 victory despite registering his lowest average of the tournament so far (91.63).
Smith is out to maintain his unbeaten record in World Championship Semi-Finals and boasts a dominant head-to-head record against Clemens with four wins from their five previous meetings.
Clemens is carrying the hopes of a huge darting nation on his shoulders and has already created a slice of history by becoming the first German to reach the Semi-Finals of the PDC World Championship.
The 39-year-old had never made it past the Last 16 stage of a PDC major since gaining his Tour Card in 2018 but has produced some of the best darts of his career to storm into the semis.
ProTour event finalist in 2022, Clemens dismissed William O’Connor in straight sets before edging out Jim Williams in a nail-biting last-set decider.
He then dashed the hopes of Alan Soutar with a commanding 4-1 success, before pulling off a remarkable 5-1 rout of top seed and 2021 champion Gerwyn Price on New Year’s Day with an average just shy of 100.
The German Giant will be determined to pick up from where he left off less than 24 hours ago and will again be roared on by a strong German contingent inside Ally Pally.
The second Semi-Final sees three-time World Champion Michael van Gerwen face former World Matchplay winner Dimitri van den Bergh.
The pair met at this stage of July’s World Matchplay in Blackpool, with Van Gerwen prevailing 17-14 on his way to claiming the title.
Van Gerwen, World Champion in 2014, 2017 and 2019, has been the dominant force on the circuit this season, also storming to Premier League, World Grand Prix and Players Championship Finals glory to take his tally of PDC major titles to 45.
The Dutch sensation racked up a further three European Tour titles, two ProTours and a World Series crown and put down an immediate marker upon his return to the capital by thrashing Lewy Williams in straight sets with a 101.8 average – dropping just one leg in the process.
He then fended off a spirited effort from a resurgent Mensur Suljovic to clinch a 4-2 victory with a stunning 107.6 average – the highest of the tournament so far and followed that up with back-to-back ton-plus averages in dismantling Dirk van Duijvenbode 4-1 and Chris Dobey 5-0.
Van Gerwen is appearing in his eighth World Championship Semi-Final since 2013, having won five of those so far, and remains the red hot favourite to regain the sport’s most prestigious silverware.
Van den Bergh, meanwhile, has broken new ground by reaching his first World Championship Semi-Final, becoming the first Belgian to do so.
The world number 15 picked up two World Series titles in 2022, while also reaching the Semi-Finals of the World Matchplay and finishing runner-up in two European Tour events.
He dropped just one set in seeing off Lourence Ilagan, Krzysztof Ratajski and Kim Huybrechts en route to the Quarter-Finals – where he battled past former Premier League champion Jonny Clayton 5-3.with second successive 95.5 average.
Ominously for the 28-year-old, he has won just one of his 13 previous meetings with MVG, with that coming back in 2018.
Victory in their most high-profile encounter to date, however, would see him climb to seventh in the Order of Merit and deny the Dutchman the chance to regain the world number one spot by going the distance.
The action commences from 7.30pm GMT, with Semi-Final matches to be contested over the best 11 sets, best of five legs per set.
Deciding sets must be won by two clear legs, unless the score reaches 5-5, in which case a sudden-death leg will be played.
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World Darts Championship 2022/23 Semi-Finals Schedule
Monday January 2
Semi-Finals
7.45pm Gabriel Clemens v Michael Smith
9.30pm Dimitri van den Bergh v Michael van Gerwen
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