Jonny Clayton fires back to edge Michael van Gerwen in Dutch Darts Championship thriller; will face Josh Rock in final

Jonny Clayton has ensured Michael van Gerwen did not manage to reach the final of the Dutch Darts Championship in Rosmalen in front of his own crowd.

In truth, it will looked back up as something of an unnecessary defeat for Van Gerwen, as after four legs nothing looked like stopping 'Mighty Mike'. The three-time world champion started the match with a 13-darter for a break and then doubled the lead with a 14-darter. Van Gerwen then even made it 4-0 with a 14-darter and a superb 170 finish.

Clayton then got on the scoreboard with a 13-darter and took advantage of the fact that Van Gerwen was not out in five visits in the sixth leg. A 15-darter brought 'The Ferret' back to 2-4 before Clayton then moved back to 3-4 with a 64 finish. Van Gerwen had every chance to stop Clayton's run in the eighth leg. However, he missed six chances for a 5-3 lead before Clayton managed to hit the double 4 with his last dart for a level game.

Clayton was then throwing first in the ninth leg, but he surrendered his own throw right away. Van Gerwen hit a 14-darter to make it 5-4 and with another 14-darter on the back of it, "Mighty Mike" took the lead to 6-4. His Welsh opponent refused to give in however and threw out 110 for 5-6. In the 12th leg, Van Gerwen was given the chance to end the match from 124, but he threw only managed a score of 44. After Clayton missed two chances for 6-6, Van Gerwen had another chance for the win from 80. However, Van Gerwen fumbled heavily with his three darts and recorded a score of only 14 points. Clayton then hit the double 10 for 6-6, after which 'The Ferret' took the match to himself with a 68 finish.

In the second semifinal, Josh Rock secured his spot in the final match. 'Rocky' outsmarted Martin Schindler 7-3 after he was able to make up a deficit earlier in the match. Perhaps the key point in the match was the fourth leg, in which Schindler, at a 3-1 lead, missed two chances at double 14 to extend the lead to 4-1. Rock closed to 2-3 via double 8, then took over the lead via an 11-darter and a 64 finish.

The next chance followed in the eighth leg, in which Schindler missed two chances for the equalizer. Rock took advantage again and hit the double 4 for 5-3. Rock then took the next two legs with two 15-darters to qualify for the final in Rosmalen.