Van Gerwen relishing Dobey duel at Alexandra Palace

Michael van Gerwen continues his bid for a fourth Sid Waddell Trophy when he takes on Chris Dobey in the Paddy Power World Darts Championship semi-finals on Thursday.

Van Gerwen is the solitary former champion left standing at Alexandra Palace, having defeated James Hurrell, Brendan Dolan, Jeffrey de Graaf and Callan Rydz in reaching the last four.

The Dutch superstar won through an epic quarter-final clash against Rydz on New Year’s Day, and now he’s aiming to end the hopes of another North East star when he goes head-to-head with Dobey.

“I think I have a lot of confidence and a lot of experience,” declared Van Gerwen, who will feature in his ninth World Championship semi-final tonight.

“I think I am in a good place, otherwise I couldn’t produce what I did against Callan, so I need to make sure I keep maintaining this focus.

“I believe I can still do more, but as long as I keep performing like this, I definitely have a chance.”

Van Gerwen has landed back-to-back ton-plus averages in wins over De Graaf and Rydz, defying a 103 average and 17 maximums from the latter to book his spot in the semi-finals.

Rydz also produced the two highest averages of the tournament against Romeo Grbavac and Dimitri Van den Bergh respectively, and Van Gerwen paid tribute to his opponent post-match.

“Callan put me under a lot of pressure. It was probably one of the most difficult moments of my year,” conceded the three-time World Champion.

“I think Callan has been a credit to this tournament, so to produce these moments when I had to, it gives me a lot of energy.

"This game gave me goosebumps. This is why you want to play darts!"

Dobey, meanwhile, won through to his maiden World Championship semi-final courtesy of a 5-3 victory against Gerwyn Price, defying a sluggish start to sink the Welshman.

Dobey had lost to Van Gerwen and Rob Cross in his previous quarter-final appearances at Alexandra Palace, relinquishing a 4-0 lead against Cross in an extraordinary contest 12 months ago.

Nevertheless, the 34-year-old avenged that heartbreak with a spirited display against Price, which saw him break new ground on the sport’s biggest stage.

“That meant a lot. It is a massive achievement in my career,” insisted Dobey, who has subsequently broken into the world’s top ten for the first time.

“Getting over that winning line; honestly, it’s hard work. It’s the most nervous I have ever felt throwing to try and win a match.”

2021 World Champion Price raced to the opening two sets with a 107 average, as he sought to progress to the semi-finals for the first time since lifting the coveted title.

However, Dobey fought his way back into the game and won four sets on the spin to get within one of a landmark victory.

Price was wasteful on the doubles, yet he regained some momentum after surviving five match darts to win the seventh set and reduce the arrears to 4-3.

Despite this, Dobey remained composed to get the job done, wrapping up proceedings with a superb double-double 92 finish to get over the winning line.

“It was a bit up and down but I’m delighted to be sat here, and I'm looking forward to the semi-final,” continued the former Masters champion.

“I think I’m a better player now. I just need to keep performing the way I am. I really do believe that I can go all the way.”

Thursday’s second semi-final will see teenage superstar Luke Littler play Masters champion Stephen Bunting for a place in Friday’s showpiece.

Littler is eyeing a place in back-to-back World Championship finals, having accounted for Ryan Meikle, Ian White, Ryan Joyce and Nathan Aspinall to maintain his remarkable record at Ally Pally.

Bunting is also featuring in his second semi-final in the capital, dispatching two-time World Champion Peter Wright 5-2 in the quarter-finals to climb to a career-high of world number five.

The tournament is being broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).