Gerwyn Price has booked his place in the Betfred World Matchplay final after a relatively convincing 17-11 win over Danny Noppert. Price pulled off a magnificent nine darter in the first half of the match, before storming into a healthy lead and controlling the pace of the match. But Noppert kept on battling away and made a game of it, even if his impressive run ends here.
The new number one will now attempt to win this competition for the first time tomorrow against either Michael van Gerwen or Dimitri Van Den Bergh, who meet later. This match had fireworks, as Price brought his A game to Winter Gardens yet again.
Both players won their opening legs on their throw but the world number one missed D20 and then D10, to give Noppert the chance at an early break - which he took. The pair traded 180s in the very next leg and then Price broke straight back as the Dutchman wasted two shots at a double.
From 2-1 down, Price, playing in his first World Matchplay semi, went 3-2 up at the break before Noppert once again came back to level. We saw just how determined he can be in his quarter-final against Dick van Duijvenbode and he was digging in here, but Price nailed a D16 to move 4-3 in front.
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The Ice Man kept delivering 180s on his first visit which put him well in contention for each leg, and a D10 finish gave him breathing room and a 5-3 lead. A 107 out put him 6-3 up, but Noppert once again dug in to make it 6-4 at the second interval.
It was a clash that Price seemed in control of in the opening periods, but he was unable to blitz his opponent, or achieve the ridiculously high average he managed against Jose de Sousa. Noppert pulled the next leg back, but then the Ice Man produced something special. A nine darter - on this stage, in a Blackpool semi-final.
It was spectacular, and the crowd rose to salute the world number one. He even followed it up with another 180 to take the match away from the Dutchman. By the time the next interval came around, he was 10-5 up having taken full control of this semi-final. In the build-up to this tournament, he claimed he was playing the best darts of career and in truth, only a handful of people believed him.
Now, he is showing just how good he can be. When he gets into his groove, nobody can stay with him. It’s why he’s back at the top of the rankings.
But the break, and Noppert’s unbreakable persistence saw him get back into the match with three successive legs. As we saw yesterday, Price took his foot off the gas and allowed his opponent back into the match. All of a sudden, the score was 10-8. But Price held his nerve, and the Dutchman didn’t. He won the next two legs, as Noppert missed an easy finish to leave the door ajar, and they went into the break with the scores at 12-8. He came out after the break with serious intent.
He wasn’t about to let Noppert back into the match in the same way that De Sousa came back at him in the quarter-final and with some composed finishes he extended his lead to 15-8 as Noppert struggled under the lights. He’s performed so well during this tournament but this just proved to be a step too far, understandably.
But he kept on chipping away. He brought it back to 15-9 and then, in a complete mess of a leg, broke the Ice Man who missed D20, D10 and D5. All of a sudden it was 15-11 and the crowd, which was so vibrant early in the evening fell silent as Price limped over the line but this complacency will be a slight worry.
But, despite the lacklustre finish - Price is still the best in the world right now. He fully deserves his spot in this year's final.
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A nine darter capped a superb win for The Iceman 🧊 over Danny Noppert.
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