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MICHAEL VAN GERWEN (7) 0-0 (3) MICHAEL SMITH
11:15am - Michael Smith said he's annoyed with himself after his perfomance. "This is my first final, but it won't be my last. I just kept saying if Michael is going to win it then make him work for it. I'm sorry I didn't put on a better show. I'm gutted."
11:12am - Michael van Gerwen speaks after lifting the Sid Waddell trophy. "This is the best feeling you can have. I have worked for this so long and everyone knows I've had a difficult year. I've played good but I haven't performed as well as I could have done so to win this trophy it's phenomenal. This means a lot to me."
SET TEN - LEG FOUR: Michael van Gerwen is the king of darts once more as he hits double 16 for his third world title. The final was a bit below par, but still had plenty of action and drama.
SET TEN - LEG THREE: Van Gerwen has one match dart, but he misses, and Smith takes the leg to drag the match out. He cleans up 58 in two darts.
SET TEN - LEG TWO: Michael Smith misses two darts to tie the leg up, and Van Gerwen makes him pay and he's one leg away from lifting the Sid Waddell trophy.
SET TEN - LEG ONE: Against the throw, van Gerwen takes the opening leg and once again, he's two legs away from victory.
SET NINE - LEG FIVE: Michael Smith lands double seven, yes double seven to take the set and mean the match will have at least one more set.
SET NINE - LEG FOUR: Here we go, another decider at the Ally Pally. As Smith wins the fourth leg. Van Gerwen has the darts in the next leg.
SET NINE - LEG THREE: Now van Gerwen is one leg away from the title, by landing double 16. The crowd is silent which is odd.
SET NINE - LEG TWO: Smith takes out 60, with a double-double to extend the match. Van Gerwen missed one dart at tops to go within one of the match.
SET NINE - LEG ONE: Van Gerwen is two legs away from the title. He takes out 58 for the leg.
SET EIGHT - LEG FIVE: Smith needs 170 and he lands the two triple 20s to leave the bullseye, but he misses. Van Gerwen then misses double 16 for the set. Smith steps up, he lands a single five and then misses double 10 and then double five for the set. Van Gerwen comes back to take the set. Those were darts thrown under pressure right there.
SET EIGHT - LEG FOUR: Van Gerwen takes out 58 to send the match into what will be the biggest leg of this game. Either Van Gerwen will move four clear again, or Smith will trail by two.
SET EIGHT - LEG THREE: Smith holds throw again by taking out a 93. He missed a triple with his first dart, but hits 54, then 20 and now he's one leg away from his third set.
SET EIGHT - LEG TWO: Van Gerwen hits back to take the second leg. He spurns four darts at double ten before eventually closing out a hold of throw.
SET EIGHT - LEG ONE: Van Gerwen lets Smith off the hook by missing double 16 against the throw.
SET SEVEN - LEG FOUR: Smith needs a triple badly, but he can't convert, meaning Van Gerwen is the first to a finish on the Smith throw. He then takes out a double 112 to take the set. Van Gerwen is just two sets away from glory now.
SET SEVEN - LEG THREE: Van Gerwen starts with a 180 and eventually takes out the leg.
SET SEVEN - LEG TWO: Smith takes out 66 to tie the set.
SET SEVEN - LEG ONE: Smith misses double 13 and Van Gerwen comes back to peg double 16 and that ends a run of dominance for Smith.
SET SIX - LEG THREE: A whitewash set to Smith and he's now down 4-2. This game is back on. He didn't miss a dart at a double in that set.
SET SIX - LEG TWO: Another finish on the bullseye against the throw by Smith. This time he takes out a 124 and the crowd his chanting 'Bully Boy'.
SET SIX - LEG ONE: Smith has the darts this set now, if he wins this he'll only be down by two sets. But van Gerwen starts with a 180, so he's up big early in the leg. Despite that, Smith is the first to a finish on a 127 and he takes it out on the bullseye.
SET FIVE - LEG FIVE: Smith finally gets get a set on the board with a beautiful 124 checkout on double 11. Triple 20, triple 14 then double 11. He throws his arms up in the air, obviously delighted and relieved to finally get going.
SET FIVE - LEG FOUR: Smith takes out the leg to set up a final leg decider again.
SET FIVE - LEG THREE: Van Gerwen holds throw and pegs double 16 with Smith sitting on four.
SET FIVE - LEG TWO: I feel bad for Smith now, he's just had 120 points fall on the floor after two of his darts fell out of the board. Despite that, he takes out the leg.
SET FIVE - LEG ONE: Van Gerwen continues his dominance by easing to the first leg of the set. He follows up three consecutive 140's with a two-dart 81 finish for an 11-dart hold to open up set five.
SET FOUR - LEG FIVE: Van Gerwen has Smith rattled after taking out that previous leg. The Dutchman is favoured for the set, but he misses the bullseye for the set. Smith Comes back needing 104, but misses double 12 again. But then Van Gerwen can't take out 37 and Smith has a chance for the set, but misses a further three darts at double 12. Van Gerwen comes back and hits double eight, and now leads 4-0. Plenty of drama at the darts.
SET FOUR - LEG FOUR: Van Gerwen takes out bullseye to send the set into a decider, with Smith sitting there waiting to take out double 10.
SET FOUR - LEG THREE: Smith lands a much-needed 180 which helps him get to a finish first, but Van Gerwen is breathing down his neck, but the Dutchman can't convert, leaving Smith needing 60 to take out the leg.
SET FOUR - LEG TWO: Van Gerwen holds throw in the second leg by hitting double 10.
SET FOUR - LEG ONE: On throw, Smith leaves 85 after nine darts, with Van Gerwen back on 167. Smith comes back for 41 and takes out the opneing leg of the set.
SET THREE - LEG FOUR: Another set to Van Gerwen won leads 3-0. He's almost halfway to his third world title. He takes out tops for the set.
SET THREE - LEG THREE: Smith is struggling in this set, but he still gets a leg on the board as he takes out 66 on tops to break Van Gerwen's throw.
SET THREE - LEG TWO: Van Gerwen doubles his advantage in the set by pinging double eight as he closes in on a 3-0 lead in sets.
SET THREE - LEG ONE: Van Gerwen is miles ahead in the opening leg of the set and has six darts at 134. He leaves double 20 after his first three and uses his next three to hold throw.
SET TWO - LEG FOUR: The Dutchman leads 2-0 in the final after taking the second set 3-1. Smith had two darts at double 12 to send the set into a fifth leg decider but missed, and Van Gerwen pounced and took out 68 in a two-dart combination.
SET TWO - LEG THREE: Van Gerwen then misses bullseye for a 130 finish and Smith holds throw as he converts a nerveless 86 combination on double 16.
SET TWO - LEG TWO: Van Gerwen takes out another ton plus finish with a beautiful 126. Smith took that leg off and was well behind.
SET TWO - LEG ONE: Michael Smith gets the second set underway. Both get to a finish after nine darts. Smith misses the bullseye for a 167 finish, he comes back for 25, but can't clean up on double 10 and Van Gerwen makes him pay by taking the leg.
SET ONE - LEG FIVE: Van Gerwen wins the first set 3-2. He misses two darts at double 12 before cleaning up on double 6. That was a fast-paced opening set there with some high quality darts. Both players are averaging over 100 in the first five legs.
SET ONE - LEG FOUR: Smith misses two darts at double 12 to tie the match up, then Van Gerwen misses double five after hitting two triple 20s. Smith finally takes out the leg on double three sending us into a final leg for the set.
SET ONE - LEG THREE: Nervy darts from Smith as Van Gerwen misses double four to whitewash the opening set. The Englishman responds by hitting the bullseye to get a leg on the board after landing two single 20s.
SET ONE - LEG TWO: Van Gerwen takes the second leg by hitting double eight. He had a chance at a 149, but missed double 16 with his last dart. Smith had a chance to take the leg, but missed tops.
SET ONE - LEG ONE: Michael van Gerewen gets us started with 59, and Smith can only manage 58 in reply. Dutchman van Gerwen makes up for his poor start on his next throw with 174 to gain the advantage in the opening leg. He is the first to a finish, needing 129, and he takes it out with a single 19, triple 20 and then bullseye.
9:24am - Van Gerwen is on the stage and he shakes Smith's hand, before both players go to the board for their nine pre-match arrows. Van Gerwen seems kind of nervous I must admit. This should be a cracking final.
9:21am - The man from St Helens gets a big cheer from the crowd. I'm sure the Ally Pally crowd will be backing the Englishman, but they will also be chanting Michael van Gerwen during the final.
9:20am - The wait is over. The final is here. Michael Smith will make his way to the stage first.
9:12am - It is named after former comentator Sid Waddell who was described as the "voice of darts". Like how Bill McLaren was described as the voice of rugby.He passed away in 2012 and the PDC decided to rename the trophy after him.
9:10am - Below is the prize Van Gerwen and Smith are competing for. The Sid Waddell trophy. Darts fans might remember two years ago, somebody got onto the stage and tried to steal the trophy, but they were taken down by security. I also think they underestimated how heavy it is.
9:03am - This is the richest televised darts match in history. £500,000 (NZ$947,509) for the winner and £200,000 (NZ$379,333) for the runner up.
9:00am - Take a look at the stats from both players and how they reached the final.
8:45am - On this day last year, Rob Cross became a household name after becoming the eighth winner of the PDC World Darts Championship. He went from being a fulltime electrician to world champion.
8:40am - Michael van Gerwen will throw first after winning the pre-match throw at bullseye.
8:35am - Hello and thanks for tuning in for Newshub's live updates fo the world darts championship final from the Alexandra Palace in London.
Michael van Gerwen is gunning to become just the second player after Phil Taylor to win three PDC World Championship titles, with Michael Smith hunting for his first major title.
The final will start after 9am (NZ time).
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Hello and welcome to updates of the PDC World Darts Championship final between Michael van Gerwen and Michael Smith from the Alexandra Palace in London.
Van Gerwen is chasing his third world title (2014,17) against Smith who is competing in his first final.
The winner of the 26th edition of the world darts championship will lift the Sid Waddell trophy along with £500,000 (NZ$947,509).
The tournament started with 96 competitors across 28 countries. Now two remain with Van Gerwen from the Netherlands and Smith from England.
The final is played best of 13 sets. A set consists of the best of five legs (first player to win three).
According to website Dartsdatabase, Van Gerwen has beaten Smith 25 times in 31 matches dating back to 2009.
They have met nine times in 2018, with Van Gerwen winning seven of those matches, including the Premier League final.
TAB odds
Head to head: Michael van Gerwen - $1.22, Michael Smith $4.00
Most 180s: Michael van Gerwen - $2.15, Michael Smith $1.75, Tie $11.00
Pre-match banter: Michael Van Gerwen to face Michael Smith in final
Michael Van Gerwen will face Michael Smith in the 2019 Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Championship after winning their semi-final matches on Monday (NZ time).
On final four night at the Alexandra Palace in London, Dutchman Van Gerwen destroyed a below-par Gary Anderson 6-1, while England’s Smith claimed a 6-3 victory over compatriot Nathan Aspinall.
New Zealand Darts Masters Champion Van Gerwen will be vying to win his third world title in four finals, while Smith is looking to lift the Sid Waddell trophy for the first time in his career.
Van Gerwen's match against fellow two-time world champion Anderson, 48, was expected to be a classic but it proved a one-sided contest.
The 29-year old Van Gerwen was rarely troubled as he won five sets on the bounce before Anderson, who has been struggling with back pain, got on the board.
Anderson then looked on track to win a second set, but he missed too many doubles as Van Gerwen hit double 20 to reach the final.
Van Gerwen, who had a three-dart average of 104.76, said it means lots to reach the final.
"I played really well, especially early doors," Van Gerwen told Sky Sports UK. "He couldn't find his form and I took advantage.
"I had a phenomenal bullseye finish early doors and I didn't give him any room to breathe.
"It means the world [to get to the final]. I do a lot to come to this stage but the work is not done yet."
He also landed 50 percent of his finishes along with 11 180 maximums.
Instead of the predicted heavyweight struggle, it was Smith's match against Aspinall which proved to be a real classic.
Tenth seed Smith reached his first ever world championship final with a nervy win over Aspinall.
The 28-year-old stormed into a 2-0 lead but tournament debutant Aspinall fought back to level at 3-3 after Smith missed a chance to lead 3-0 himself.
Smith finished the match with a three-dart average of 105.22, along with 17 180 maximums, compared to Aspinall who averaged 100.83 and 13 180s.
"I've never felt like that. I'm so happy to be in the final," Smith told Sky Sports UK. "I'm one step away from living my dream."
Newshub.