World Darts Championship: Michael van Gerwen to play Gary Anderson in semi-finals
Saturday 29 December 2018 22:25, UK
Michael van Gerwen booked a semi-final showdown with Gary Anderson at the World Darts Championship after seeing off Ryan Joyce at Alexandra Palace.
The world No 1 was rarely threatened by the unseeded Englishman on his way to a 5-1 victory, posting a 101.76 average to help him reach the semi-finals for the sixth time in seven years.
Van Gerwen will now face fellow two-time world champion Anderson on Sunday, who he beat in the final in 2017, after the Scot dispatched Dave Chisnall 5-2 earlier in the day.
Michael Smith also progressed after thrashing Luke Humphries 5-1 and will play against unseeded Nathan Aspinall, who beat Brendan Dolan by the same margin in the afternoon session.
Michael van Gerwen v Ryan Joyce
Michael van Gerwen fired a 100+ average for the 17th consecutive match at Ally Pally to eliminate Ryan Joyce and move into the last four.
Live World Darts Championship
Van Gerwen took only 41 darts to breeze through the first set in straight legs and won the first two legs in the second, before Joyce broke the Dutchman by taking out 126 for a 15-darter.
The world No 1 signed off the second set with a 121 checkout but lost the third when Joyce found the bullseye for a 66 finish, only for the Englishman to let a two-leg lead slip in the fourth to restore Van Gerwen's two-set cushion.
Van Gerwen - who only registered five maximums in the match - fired a 13-darter to break Joyce and take the fifth set 3-1, before winning the next by the same margin to ease through.
Luke Humphries v Michael Smith
Michael Smith reached the semi-finals for the first time in eight attempts after ending Luke Humphries' impressive Ally Pally debut.
Humphries had knocked out defending champion Rob Cross on Friday evening but had no answer for Smith, who fired eight maximums and posted 103 average to ease to victory.
Smith opened with back-to-back 13-darters and broke Humphries with a 117 checkout to take the first set, with the 10th seed winning all three legs of the second to double his advantage.
Humphries broke back with a 170 finish and completed the third set with a 12-darter, only for Smith to take the next two before signing off his emphatic victory in the sixth by taking out 87 for an 11-darter.
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