MICHAEL VAN GERWEN overcame Michael Smith in the semi-finals SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.

World number one van Gerwen won through to the final for the second time in four years with a 16-6 win over Michael Smith.

The Dutch star's quest to complete a full set of PDC major title wins continued with another impressive display, as he landed four ton-plus checkouts and finished 62 percent of his darts at a double.

Van Gerwen did much of the damage in the early stages, leading 2-0 before Smith hit the bull to get off the mark and then landing an 11-darter to move 4-1 up.

He extended that advantage to 8-2 with the aid of a 14-dart finish, a 12-darter and a 111 checkout, with Smith finishing tops and 119 to respond only for van Gerwen to power home a 147 finish in moving into an 11-4 advantage.

After Smith hit back on tops, van Gerwen took out 104 for a 12-dart leg and moved nine legs clear at 14-5, with the St Helens ace briefly rallying but seeing his hopes ended as the world number one took out the maximum 170 checkout to seal victory in style.

"I'm playing well and I did what I had to do, which was win the game," said van Gerwen. "Michael was a bit nervous and was struggling a bit and I took advantage of that.

"It doesn't matter how you get in the final as long as you win. That wasn't my best performance but I did what I had to do at the right moments and the 170 to end the game was incredible.

"Michael's a talented player and I hope het gets his confidence back because he deserves more than this. I'll prepare for the final now and it will be a tough game.

"I don't want to make any mistakes today. I'm really proud of myself for being in the final but I'm not finished yet - I've never won this tournament before and I'm desperate to win it."

Taylor, meanwhile, overcame long-standing rival van Barneveld 16-12 in an enthralling contest as he remained on course to retain the title and claim his seventh triumph at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.

He hit back from 2-0 down - as van Barneveld landed 180s in both of the opening two legs - to level and recovered from missed darts to break in legs five and seven by taking out 66 to move ahead for the first time at 5-4.

That came in a run of five straight legs as Taylor moved into an 8-4 lead, and it became an advantage he would retain throughout the remainder of a high-quality contest.

Van Barneveld took out 111, double ten and 73 as he pulled back to 8-7, but he was crucially never able to level as Taylor hit a 13-darter to regain his cushion and landed two 180s in a 12-darter to edge away at 10-7.

A 97 checkout and a 13-darter helped Taylor to lead 12-8, and he also finished 106 and double 16 to continue his charge at 14-10.

Van Barneveld continued to fight as two tops finishes halved the gap, but the Dutchman missed double 16 in the 27th leg as Taylor took out a third-dart double seven to move 15-12 up before sealing his win with a 12-dart leg.

"It was a battle," said Taylor. "It was a strange game at the start and I went 2-0 down again, and I think all the hype put us both under pressure but towards the end we relaxed and started playing.

"Barney's such a good player and he's phenomenal under pressure. I've not seen him like this for a while - he's in the gym and he's doing everything right - and he's focused, and he's back to where he belongs in my opinion.

"It's going to be a cracker of a final and I'm looking forward to playing Michael. It will be a good game."

Smith's run this week had see him reach his first major televised semi-final, and the 25-year-old said: "It took the best player in the world to knock me out of the tournament, so I'm pretty happy but disappointed with how I played today.

"I was too inconsistent and missed quite a few doubles, but it's a learning curve. I didn't punish Michael when I had chances but I didn't give up.

"It's my first major semi-final and I want to push on from here now and get into big finals and hopefully win major titles."

SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts.

Sunday November 15.

Afternoon Session.

Semi-Finals.

Michael van Gerwen 16-6 Michael Smith.

Raymond van Barneveld 12-16 Phil Taylor.