A Michael will be darts world champion in 2023, that’s already clear after the semi-final evening in “Ally Pally”. Michael van Gerwen wants title number four, Michael Smith the first trophy. It is the logical final after 16 days of the World Cup.
Those who stay in the Eldorado of darts, the Alexandra Palace, usually experience pure partying. Loud crowd chants, costumed fans, beer everywhere. And by the way, the best dart players throw darts at a disc. This is the simplified version. The magic of darts can also be seen in the first semifinals of the 2023 World Cup. This Tuesday evening, the favorite Englishman Michael Smith, two-time vice world champion, plays against the German darts sensation from Saarland, Gabriel Clemens, the “German Giant “.
And in the initial phase, the two giants play into the flow. This is the state in which the arrows press into the triple fields so often within a few seconds that it seems as if the players have switched to robot mode. Gabriel “Gaga” Clemens hits the triple 20 six times in a row, Michael Smith four times. Caller George Noble can’t get out of “One Hundred and Eighty”. Clack, clack, clack. Triple 20. Triple 20. Triple 20. What precision. What a game.
It is simply a sensation that the “German Giant”, Gabriel Clemens, is part of this breathtaking game. Just a week ago, darts fans in Germany dreamed of getting a player into the last eight of the World Cup. Clemens has now even made it into the top four at the most important tournament of the year.
And in the phase in which the Englishman and the Saarlander play themselves intoxicated, the Clemens fans can even hope for the next sensation. Both players play so well with their own throw that each set initially goes the full distance. After four rounds it is 2:2. The game is so good that the fans are silent. Because they follow the game spellbound instead of distracting themselves with singing, beer or hot dogs.
This goes on for two more sentences. Only the sixth sentence takes a little tension out of the game. Clemens waits to equalize to make it 3-3 when Smith throws 83 points with a precise throw into the smallest square on the dartboard. bulls-eye. 4:2 lead Smith instead of 3:3. It feels like a preliminary decision at this moment. And it is one too.
Clemens continues to play at a high level in the next few sets, but Smith is always a tad better. That’s the difference between fourth in the world rankings and 25. When both perform at their best, it always looks bad for the outsider in the end. It’s such an evening in front of 3,100 spectators, including 750 Germans, at “Ally Pally”.
In the end, Clemens was beaten below value, the 2:6 from his point of view is a bit too clear, but the victory for the unleashed playing “Bully Boy” was only logical. “Of course I’m disappointed, but I just lost to the better player today. I didn’t miss so many chances,” Clemens summed up.
The 39-year-old himself saw Smith’s bullseye goal to make it 4-2 as a kind of preliminary decision, but also praised the Englishman’s general playing strength. “The finish to 2: 4 was of course a good moment for him. He just scored brutally well. Hats off. I hope he becomes world champion now, he just deserves it.”
In the final, Smith now meets top favorite Michael van Gerwen. It’s the dream finale. The best and by far the most successful player of the past ten years (Michael van Gerwen) against the two-time vice world champion and second most successful player of the past year (Michael Smith). “If a player can threaten van Gerwen, it’s Smith, and he’s the last one left,” said former World Cup semi-finalist and current TV pundit Wayne Mardle on Sky Sports.
A few minutes earlier, superstar van Gerwen had played his way into his sixth World Cup final in eleven years with a brutally strong performance. The Dutchman demonstrated his current supremacy against Belgian Dimitri Van den Bergh. The game went 6-0 to “MvG”, who not only sent Van den Bergh home disappointed, but also the fans, who had hoped for a much longer darts evening.
Only in the first and fourth sets did Van den Bergh come close to winning a set. Van Gerwen won all other rounds with 3:0. “Invincible is a big word, but winning such games so clearly gives me a lot of self-confidence,” said the third in the world rankings after his resounding victory. Van Gerwen also had a few words left for his opponent. In the middle of the game, the Belgian complained that van Gerwen stamped his feet behind his back. Something that the world champion of 2014, 2017 and 2019 vehemently rejected. “I have no idea what he was upset about. Well, if I had played like he did, I would have been upset too.”
The final could be a “special game”, said van Gerwen. It is the new edition of the 2019 final. Since then, “MvG” has been untitled at the most important tournament. Time enough to end the dry spell. “Michael and I know each other very well, we had great games against each other. It will be a breathtaking final,” van Gerwen is convinced. Even if Gabriel Clemens is no longer there.
