Michael van Gerwen failed to win the fourteenth round in the Premier League on Thursday. De Brabander lost 6-4 to reigning world champion Michael Smith in the semi-finals.
Van Gerwen quickly faced a 2-0 deficit in Manchester. Despite a rough start, the Brabant player came back to 2-2 via a break.
Smith, the number one of the Order of Merit, did not let the Dutchman come alongside until a 5-2 score. De Brabander was lucky that he was still in the game, as Smith had missed two match darts. The Englishman finally topped it off with a 116 finish.
Despite a lower average per three arrows, the Englishman was more effective than ‘Mighty Mike’. The Dutchman scored 99.40 per three arrows, compared to Smith’s 91.62.
Smith will face Jonny Clayton in the final, who beat Chris Dobey 6-3 earlier in the evening. Van Gerwen, who was 2-6 too strong for Gerwyn Price earlier in the evening, is again without a day win due to his loss.
The fourteenth of a total of sixteen rounds will be played in Manchester. Van Gerwen booked a total of three final victories. In the last eight rounds he only managed to reach the final once. He lost to Chris Dobey. The next round is scheduled for May 11 in Sheffield.
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