VAN HITS TOP GEAR

MVG shows Dobey no mercy as he seals place in final

- MIKE WALTERS

AFTER Hogmanay came Clogmanay and Michael van Gerwen was never going to let the party fall flat.

Easing into his seventh PDC World Championship final with a brutal 6-1 demolition of outclassed Chris Dobey, MVG needed just 49 minutes to seal his place in tonight's showpiece.

From the first dart, Van Gerwen looked like a man in a hurry to end his six-year wait for a fourth title.

And in the pantheon of Dutch masters, he will be up there with Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Erik ten Hag if he lifts the Sid Waddell Trophy again at Alexandra Palace.

Only Phil Taylor (16) and compatriot Raymond van Barneveld (five) have won more world titles than Clog Almighty.

No wonder his excitement got the better of him and he turned the air blue in his post-match TV interview.

Since the last of his three world titles six years ago, Van Gerwen has invented an exotic range of ways to leave Ally Pally with regrets.