However six missed doubles cost Van Gerwen the chance to level the match in the eighth leg and the Welshman took advantage to extend his lead. Looking ahead to facing Smith, he said: "I've stayed in the UK to get myself prepared and now I'm looking forward to Thursday night. Jose Justicia hit the 13th nine-darter in UK Open history, but the Spaniard lost his third round tie against Adam Gawlas.

Women’s World Matchplay champion Greaves converted 101 and 124 finishes to seize the early initiative, but following a run of eight straight holds, Aspinall sank a nerveless 98 finish to deny Greaves a debut victory. He dispensed with one of those arch rivals last night in the shape of Peter Wright, who crumbled to a 4-0 defeat, while the other - Gerwyn Price - was punished for every mistake in his semi-final by Aspinall.

Dartboard with a difference

My practice over the [summer] holidays hasn't been great, but I'm coming here playing well; I've got new darts, they're going well. Aspinall missed four match darts in a deciding leg against Callan Rydz and Lewis squandered a 6-2 lead over Ryan Searle, both in round four, while Van Barneveld fluffed eight match darts against William Borland in round three.

On New Year’s Day 2014, in the final against Peter Wright, the Scot who favours a colourful Mohican and paints a snake on the side of his shaven head, Van Gerwen “was a huge favourite”. Dirk van Duijvenbode and Brendan Dolan open the tournament in a battle of the former finalists, as two-time runner-up Raymond van Barneveld makes his double-start return against Germany’s Martin Schindler. It might seem mildly disturbing to hear a darts player talking about his “brand” but there is nothing contrived about Van Gerwen’s blistering talent or explosive celebrations. “It’s just me,” he says with a final shrug. “The Bulldog has gone. It’s 100% Mighty Mike.” Second seed Price, who was aiming to become the first Welshman to win the title, was fired up and his trademark roar reverberated around the Winter Gardens as he took his chances on the doubles to keep the upper hand. Aspinall keeps the match alive with a comfortable hold of throw in 17 darts but he'll need to break the MVG throw in the next or it's game over.He later added: "There were a few days at the weekend when I wasn't 100 per cent sure but that's why I played. My specialist told if I played, I could make it worse. But if I played then I needed rest and when I played I needed to keep my arm moving smoothly and that's what I did. Earlier, Peter Wright was well below his best in a 5-1 defeat to US qualifier Stowe Buntz, who averaged 102 – more than 20 points higher than his opponent. The final begins at around 1945 BST so between now and then we'll run through the routes to the final, tournament statistics, head-to-head records and some predictions.