Michael van Gerwen fends off Callan Rydz to reach semi-finals as Chris Dobey beats Gerwyn Price

Michael van Gerwen beat Callan Rydz 5-3 in a high-quality World Darts Championship quarter-final to set up a quarter-final clash with Chris Dobey.

Van Gerwen, who has now reached the semi-finals nine times at Alexandra Palace, produced his best performance of the tournament so far, and he needed it with both players averaging over 100.

The Dutchman is aiming to win a fourth world title and will face Dobey, who beat Gerwyn Price 5-3 in the first match of the afternoon.

“He gave me everything. He kept hitting triples. When I had a 4-2 lead I thought I broke it but he never gave up,” Van Gerwen said. Aerial sports.

“I was starting to get angry at one point! But I did it when I had to and I’m really happy with my performance. My game is in a good place. We’re only in the semi-finals so that doesn’t mean anything yet.

“The game had everything, it had drama, 180s and being part of games like this gives you a lot of joy. He kept me under constant pressure. It’s one of the best performances I’ve done in a long time. I’m in heaven.

“I had a difficult year and I fought everywhere. I am still here and I believe in my own abilities. It means a lot to me.

The first two sets were split as Rydz hit 12 consecutive darts to make the score 1-1.

Van Gerwen dominated a tight third set before Rydz came back, but missed a set dart to take a 3-2 lead.

Instead, Van Gerwen, who made two serious attempts at nine darts but failed to execute it, cleared a set again and took a 4-2 lead.

Rydz won a thrilling seventh set with a tops-to-tops finish, but ‘The Riot’ missed two darts from the set to send the match into a decider as Van Gerwen produced one last moment of quality to go through.

Dobey battles to reach semifinals for first time

Dobey reached the semi-finals of the World Darts Championship for the first time, coming from two sets down to beat Price 5-3.

Just like in his previous two matches, Price got off to a fast start before starting to miss key doubles and was punished by Dobey, who averaged 113 in the third set as he began his comeback.

Price missed a set dart in the fourth as Dobey tied the match before winning the next two sets.

The Welshman, who continued to lament several missed doubles, was booed by the crowd at the start of the seventh set after reacting with a wild celebration.

That appeared to prompt Price to capitalize on five missed darts from Dobey to take a step back before dancing on the Alexandra Palace stage.

But Dobey, playing in his third consecutive quarterfinal, kept his cool and dominated the final set, winning with a spectacular 20-D18-D18 control.

“Overcoming this defeat [to Rob Cross] last year and crossing the line this year means so much,” Dobey said Aerial sports.

“I’ve never been as nervous as I was today about throwing a game-winning double. I was thinking about last year and I kept thinking, “keep going, you’ll get another chance.” Luckily, I found a way to cross the line. I’m overwhelmed.

“Il [Price] he didn’t give it as much as I thought he would. This could have helped me.

“I can’t wait to get this win. I probably wouldn’t have made it without this crowd.

Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch the semi-finals and final exclusively live on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel. Stream darts and many other top sports with NOW