With summaryBeat one more opponent and then Michael van Gerwen will have completed his mission. He can take his fourth world title on Tuesday evening and ‘finally’ take first place in the world ranking again. After an impressive quarter-final and semi-final (5-0 and 6-0), only Michael Smith can throw a spanner in the works. Dimitri Van den Bergh had no chance in the neighbor dispute.
,,This takes a lot of energy, but it gives me great pleasure that I reach such a high level”, was the first reaction of the Vlijmenaar afterwards. Like a hurdler on his way to a very fast time, Michael van Gerwen raced through the World Darts Championship to the semi-finals. But the last two hurdles still had to be taken. Dimitri Van den Bergh did not seem too difficult an obstacle in the last four in advance.
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But Dancing Dimitri immediately placed a break in the third leg by throwing 170. So the first blow was for the Belgian. The only one too, it turned out later. Mighty Mike immediately broke back, restored order and then still won the first set. And he was immediately back – just like in all his previous matches – on an average of over a hundred (102.17). He continued that line, taking a 4-0 lead in sets (after Van den Bergh had missed three arrows to 3-1). In the end he finished without losing a set with an average of 108.28 and a very nice throwout percentage of 58%.
,,How can I beat Michael van Gerwen in this form? By kicking him off the podium,” said Michael Smith with a wink after the Englishman won his semi-final against the German Gabriel Clemens (6-2). That game was in London, but Clemens played a home game, as the Germans made up more than half the crowd at Alexandra Palace on Monday night.
Clemens could use the support, because Smith was a heavy favourite. In the first set, ‘Bully Boy’ immediately proved why, with an average of 110.72 (and four 180s), although the German also did very well with 102.39 (and two 180s). And in the beginning of the second set, Smith took it up a notch; Clemens already seemed to have to drop out, but still won the set (also because Smith missed one arrow).
It went well for the German until the sixth set, which he had to hand in. And even though he eventually lost 6-2, the differences were not as great as that result suggests. The first seven sets were only decided in the fifth leg. When Clemens’ resistance was broken, Smith – who produced throws of 161 and 144 in this match, among other things, took the eighth set 3-0 in legs and with it the match. Smith finished with a three arrow average of 101.85 and a throwout percentage of 42 percent. Or that Tuesday evening is enough to become world champion for the first time?
So it will be a final between the two Michaels and that poster was also on the final poster of the World Cup in 2019. Then Van Gerwen won 7-3 against Smith. That was the last time Mighty Mike was allowed to lift the World Cup. He will sign for a screenplay like at the time. but Smith now has more experience and also – finally – a major title on his record. “I think I am mentally stronger than I was then,” warned Smith, who was also a losing World Cup finalist last year. Then he just didn’t make it against Peter Wright.
Will the third time be a charm? Michael van Gerwen seems difficult to beat at the moment. He fully lives up to his nicknames ‘Mighty Mike’ and ‘Green Wrecking Ball’ these weeks. The last time he was so dominant at a World Cup was in 2017, when Mighty Mike defeated Raymond van Barneveld in the semi-finals with an average of 114.05. The final wasn’t exciting either. Van Gerwen put Gary Anderson aside 6-2.
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