Michael van Gerwen beat Chris Dobey on Thursday in a one-sided clash at Alexandra Palace to book his place in the World Darts Championship final.
It is the seventh time he has reached the final of the sport’s flagship tournament, and the first since losing in the 2023 final.
The first set was barely a fight, completed by the Dutchman in six minutes with his first 180, a sign of what was to come in the first-to-six match.
Dobey performed better in the second, breaking Van Gerwen’s throw in the opening game only to see that advantage immediately diminish in the next salvo. The set went to a decisive fifth stage and the Briton was left to rue his precision in doubles, missing three darts at the finish before his three-time world champion opponent made such an error to take firm control of the contest.
Van Gerwen started to look human in the third set. A mistake saw him go broke in the first leg when he had three darts to break Dobey, before the opportunity presented itself. A 170 from Dobey in the next round shifted the momentum in his favor as he swept the set and moved up the board. This only seemed to irritate Van Gerwen, who flirted with a nine-darter in an attempt to restore a two-set advantage before a break in play.
That break didn’t stop Van Gerwen as he landed the fifth with an average of 104 before showing his final prowess in the next, checking 158 en route to a 5-1 lead.
Dobey was visibly deflated as play entered the seventh set, but fought dutifully to challenge “The Green Machine’s” perfect six darts and hold back his throw. This turned out to be just a delay of the inevitable, however, as MVG locked on to send Dobey crashing out of the tournament with the final result 6-1.
-Van Gerwen will face the winner of Luke Littler’s duel with Stephen Bunting later on Thursday. He is aiming for his first WDC title since 2019.
“I can be satisfied with the performance. Of course, I didn’t play as explosively as in the last match, but I was effective,” he said. “When I had to do things, I did it at the right time and that’s what you have to do if you want to win games.
“We’re not even close yet, we’re still so far away. Tomorrow will be another day and the title is still so far away. That’s what you have to say to yourself because I don’t want to make mistakes. I want to keep fighting with everything I have in my body.
“I love what I do, I love playing on this stage. It’s my passion, it’s my life, after my family. I really enjoyed it.
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