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Van Gerwen and Anderson To Meet In Semi-Finals

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN will take on Gary Anderson, and Michael Smith will face Nathan Aspinall after the four players won through the quarter-finals of the 2018/19 William Hill World Championship at London's Alexandra Palace.

Day 14 of the 2.5 million pound event saw the four quarter-finals played across two sessions, with two-time World Champions Van Gerwen and Anderson now set for a Sunday night semi-final showdown.

Anderson made it through to the semi-finals for the fourth time in five years as he overcame Dave Chisnall 5-2 with a 103.03 average. A blistering start from the Scotsman saw him take the opening set 3-0 in just 39 darts, before winning the second set 3-1 to double his advantage. Finishes of 121 and 112 from Chisnall applied the pressure in set three, but Anderson took the deciding leg to go 3-0 up. A resilient Chisnall came from 2-0 down to take the fourth set, but back-to-back checkouts of 115 and 130 helped Anderson restore his three-set cushion at 4-1. The deciding leg of set six went the way of Chisnall, but any hopes of a comeback from the St Helens man were put to bed by Anderson who ended the contest with a 171 followed by a 48 finish to make it through to the final four.

"Dave always gives you a tough game so I'm glad to make it through, and the 180s are back which is pleasing," said Anderson. "My back was still a bit sore, so it was good that I could get the job done in fairly quick time and now I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

Van Gerwen eased into the final four with a 5-1 triumph over Joyce, which saw the world number one post his 17th consecutive ton-plus average on the Alexandra Palace stage. The opening two sets went Van Gerwen's way for the loss of just one leg, before Joyce took out 66 on the bull in the deciding leg of set three to go within a set of the Dutchman. However, the comeback was short-lived as Van Gerwen won the deciding leg of the fourth set to stretch clear once again, restoring his two-set advantage. The Dutchman took the fifth and sixth sets 3-1 to wrap up the win and continue his quest for a third success at Alexandra Palace, where he will meet Anderson in a replay of the 2016/17 final.

"I think I played well overall tonight, but I had a terrible spell because I put too much pressure on myself," said Van Gerwen. "I wanted to show everyone what I can do and I dipped down a bit but I can't really complain with a 5-1 win. "Tomorrow night I will be expecting something special from myself, I can't let myself down and I need to make sure I'm sharp."

The winner of that match will face either Smith or Aspinall in the final after the North West pair advanced to the semi-final stage for the first time with convincing victories over Luke Humphries and Brendan Dolan respectively. Premier League finalist Smith had no trouble in defeating Humphries 5-1 with a dominant display which saw him end the match with a 103 average. Smith sealed the opening set with a 117 checkout, before taking the second without dropping a leg to double his lead. Humphries, who ended Rob Cross' reign as World Champion on Friday, fired in a 170 finish on his way to halving the deficit, only for Smith to restore his two-set cushion by taking the fourth set 3-1. Smith won the deciding leg of set five, and followed it up with two 11-dart legs in the sixth to edge closer to his first World Championship title.

"My dream is another step close to reality now, I'm pleased with my scoring but not my doubles-hitting," said Smith. "The way I was two or three years ago that game probably would've turned out differently but I'm a different player now and I put my foot down when I need to. "I told my son the only time he can come on the stage is if I win this trophy, I've never even touched the trophy myself and I won't do so until I win it."

Aspinall continued his dream debut run with an impressive 5-1 demolition of Dolan. After cruising through the opening set without the loss of a leg, Aspinall won the deciding leg of set two to double his lead. It got even better for the former World Youth Championship runner-up as a magnificent 132 checkout helped him on his way to set three, before landing a 122 finish on his way to a 4-0 lead. Former World Grand Prix runner-up Dolan won three consecutive legs to get a set on the board, but 27-year-old Aspinall slammed the door in the Northern Irishman's face, wrapping up the win with a 96 finish.

"It feels unreal, this is a life-changing win for me and my family," said Aspinall. "I felt really relaxed and I enjoyed it up there today, it's probably the most calm and confident I've felt up there even though that was the biggest game of my life. "The dream isn't over yet, I feel there's more to come from me and I can't wait to play my semi-final. I'm just loving every minute of this!"

Statistics - Quarterfinals, Afternoon

Statistics - Quarterfinals, Evening

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