Michael van Gerwen will bid for a third World Championship title against first-timer Michael Smith.Smith played superbly in his first semi-final at Alexandra Palace to end the run of Nathan Aspinall in a 6-3 triumph, before Van Gerwen swept aside Gary Anderson, winning 6-1.Van Gerwen won the title in 2014 and 2017 and looked every inch the top seed in a brilliant performance against Anderson, who in contrast struggled to find his best form.Anderson at least avoided a whitewash by winning the sixth set, but that was where his resistance ended.Not surprisingly, Van Gerwen was thrilled with his performance, telling Sky Sports: “I think I played really well, especially early doors. Gary couldn’t find his form in the beginning and I took advantage of that. I didn’t give him any time to breathe in this game. After the 5-0 I was getting confident.”Both Smith and Aspinall were playing in the last four for the first time, but 10th seed Smith had the pedigree against debutant Aspinall and made it count.Smith made a tremendous start and took a 2-0 lead, but Aspinall fought back to level at 2-2 and then again for 3-3.But Smith was relentless in his scoring and clinched victory at the first attempt with a 121 checkout.The 28-year-old averaged 105.22, hit 17 180s – an individual record in a World Championship semi-final – and had a checkout percentage of 51.11.After seeing Smith progress to the final in the quest for his first world title, it was over to the big boys, and before you knew it, it was all over.Expected to be a close, tight affair, Van Gerwen steamrolled Anderson and was leading 5-0 within a blink of an eye.Anderson clawed one set back to save a bit of dignity, but in the seventh and final set, it was Van Gerwen who got the job done, sealing an emphatic 6-1 victory.On his way to sealing the win, the Dutchman showed off his showboating side, a moment which left the commentator calling him 'outrageous'.

Van Gerwen had 160 left, and after missing the treble 20 to keep a checkout alive, he then effortlessly landed two bullseyes to leave himself double top at the return of the Oche.

He then took the leg in two darts making it 1-1 in the final set.

More of that please in the final, MvG.