Only Michael Smith stands in the way of Michael van Gerwen in his pursuit of a fourth World Darts Championship title as the pair meet in the final at Alexandra Palace tonight.
The Dutchman whitewashed Dimitri van den Bergh 6-0 in last night’s semi-final as Smith chased a first world title, overcoming German No 1 Gabriel Clemens 6-2 in their match.
The bookies will put Van Gerwen down as favorite for this one but Smith is determined to right the wrongs of his last defeat from 2019 which his rivals won 7-3.
Sporting News is ready to bring you live updates and highlights of the match below which will kick-off at around 8:15 GMT.
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Michael Smith vs Michael van Gerwen live score
| Sets. | the legs | The final | |
| Smith | 0 | 0 | – |
| Van Gerwen | 0 | 0 | – |
World Darts Championship final updates, highlights from Michael Smith’s clash with Michael van Gerwen
All times GMT
7:25 pm: 30th PDC WDC Final
Only 10 players have won the PDC World Darts Championship since the event was first held in 1994 – will Michael Smith be the 11th?
Dennis Presley beat Phil Taylor 6-1 in the inaugural final, but it’s fair to say The Power hit back. pretty well As he claimed the title an astonishing 14 times.
Following the death of legendary darts commentator Sid Waddell in 2012, a new World Championship trophy was created and named in his honour. Either Van Gerwen or Smith will be picking it up tonight.
7:10 pm: The world number one spot will be decided.
As if the world title and £500,000 payday weren’t enough, tonight’s winner will also top the world rankings.
Van Gerwen is looking to regain the WN1 spot while Smith is looking to reach the summit for the first time in his career. In the PDC World Ranking, prize money is also translated into points. You can see the prize money for this year’s World Championship here.
No pressure, guys!
6.55pm: Michael van Gerwen – Road to the final
Three-time winner Michael van Gerwen came into the Alleppey as the tournament favorite and lived up to expectations with a number of impressive performances en route to the final, averaging three figures in all five of his matches.
Mighty Mike defeated Lewy Williams 3-0 before coming through an impressive showdown with Mensur Suljovic, 4-2 in the last 32.
The Dutchman then defeated compatriot Dirk van Duyvenbode 4-1 and whitewashed Chris Dubey (5-0) in the last eight and Dimitri van den Bergh (6-0) in the last four.
Van Gerwen has dropped just three sets in five matches – absolutely incredible!
Tape Story 📏
🏴 Michael Smith vs Michael van Gerwen 🇳🇱
Here are the key stats for our two finalists ahead of tonight’s finale. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/FdoaRJ1HEC
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 3, 2023
6.40pm: Michael Smith – Road to the Final
Number four seed Smith beat youngster Nathan Rafferty 3-0 in his opening match and came back from 3-1 down to see off Martin Schindler 4-3 in the last 32.
The 32-year-old Englishman then produced an average of 103.25 – his best ever of the tournament – as he beat Masters champion Joe Cullen 4-1 in the last 16.
In the New Year, Smith defeated Stephen Bunting 5-3 in the quarter-finals and won the last four sets to end Gabriel Clemens’ historic campaign 6-2 last night in the semi-finals.
6:20 p.m.: It will all be Mike at night.
We are less than two hours away from the biggest match in darts – the 2022/23 PDC World Darts Championship Final.
Van Gerwen is appearing in his sixth World Final and is looking for his fourth win after victories in 2014, 2017 and 2019.
Michael Smith will be hoping it’s third time lucky as he aims to fulfill his dream of becoming a world champion. Billy Boy lost to Van Gerwen in a 2019 title match and to Peter Wright twelve months ago.
6 pm: Hello, and welcome to Sporting News’ live coverage of the World Darts Championship Final! 96 players are at just two as Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen battle it out for the Sid Waddell Trophy. This is set to be a cracker of a finale… let’s get going with some construction!
what A. Final 🍿
Who will win the 2023 World Darts Championship? 🤔🏆 pic.twitter.com/vXZhPKBFUk
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 2, 2023
World Darts Championship TV Channel, Live Stream
| United Kingdom | United States | Canada | Australia | New Zealand | |
| Time | 12:30 / 19:00 GMT | 07:30 / 14:00 ET | 07:30 / 14:00 ET | 23:00 / 18:00 AEST | 01:00 / 20:00 NZDT |
| TV channel | Sky Sports Darts | – | – | Fox Sports | Sky Sport |
| Continuity | SkyGo app | DAZN | DAZN | Foxtel/Q | Sky Sport |
*The table above indicates the start times of the afternoon and evening sessions.
Viewers can also log into subscription service PDCTV to watch action throughout the championship (except for customers based in the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland).
