Defending champion Dimitri Van den Bergh (7/4 to win – outright) produced an incredible display to beat Gerwyn Price 16-9 and book his place in the semi-finals of the Betfred World Matchplay.
Thursday 22nd Results:
Dimitri Van den Bergh 16-9 Gerwyn Price
Krzysztof Ratajski 16-8 Callan Rydz
Friday 23rd Order of Play:
Peter Wright vs Michael Smith (19:00)
Michael van Gerwen vs Nathan Aspinall (21:00)
The reigning world champion and world number one had no answer for the Belgian in front of a packed crowd at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.
Van den Bergh fired home ten 180s and averaged 102 on his way to a comprehensive victory. He got off to a perfect start when winning five consecutive legs, and he never looked back, despite Price doing all he could to get under his skin.
Van den Bergh is now two matches away from retaining his title, and he believes he can go all the way this week.
He told Sky Sports: “I believe in it [retaining his title], and if I’m believing in it, then I have got to say yes. With a crowd like this, my chances are even bigger, so once again – thank you guys, I love you to bits.”
Van den Bergh will now face former World Masters champion Krzysztof Ratajski for a place in Sunday’s final after he beat Callan Rydz 16-8.
He reached his first major PDC semi-final after some incredible scoring as he finished 116 in the sixth leg, before recording an 11-darter in leg 12. Ratajski had a seven-leg cushion at 12-5, and he kept his composure to reach the next round.
The quarter-finals will conclude on Friday, with Peter Wright tackling Michael Smith (Wright 1/2, Smith 13/8 – Match Betting), while Dutch legend Michael van Gerwen takes on Nathan Aspinall (Van Gerwen 4/9, Aspinall 7/4 – Match Betting).
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