Champion Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright to meet in final fling

• Top seed sees off England’s Nathan Aspinall 6-3 in semi-final
• Wright beats Gerwyn Price in an ill-tempered last-four clash

And so, with 94 out of 95 matches played, we find ourselves pretty much where we started: Michael van Gerwen against the field. As the world No1 and heavy favourite has carved a regal swath through the world championship draw, beating Nathan Aspinall 6-3 in Monday’s semi-final, one by one his closest rivals have fallen away: Rob Cross, Michael Smith, Gary Anderson, Gerwyn Price. Only Peter Wright, the man they call Snakebite, now separates him from a fourth world title.

On pedigree alone, it should be no contest. Van Gerwen is the indisputable master of modern darts, a silverware machine who treats all his opponents as impostors. Though he has looked several notches below his best over the last fortnight – and even his moment of victory here was greeted with a rueful shake of the head – his B-game has been more than good enough so far. Whether it will be good enough for Wright, however – a man who delights in upending the conventional maxims of the sport – is a matter of some interest.

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