Darts results: Gerwyn Price to face Gary Anderson in PDC World Championship final after record-breaking victory

• Scroll down for averages stats from both games
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Stephen Bunting 4-6 Gerwyn Price

• Set scores: 2-3, 3-2, 3-2, 3-1, 1-3, 1-3, 3-2, 1-3, 0-3, 1-3

Gerwyn Price became the first Welshman to reach the PDC World Darts Championship final after overcoming Stephen Bunting 6-4 in a sensational clash featuring a record-breaking number of 100+ checkouts.

The Iceman, who will replace Michael van Gerwen as world number one if he lifts the Sid Waddell Trophy and pockets the winner's cheque of £500,000 on Sunday night, fired in eight of the 13 ton+ finishes as the duo smashed the previous mark of 11 that has stood since Phil Taylor beat Kevin Painter 7-6 in the 2004 final.

Price's tally also equalled the individual record which MVG set in the 2014 quarter-finals against Mark Webster as he unleashed a blockbusting performance to finally sink a titanic challenge from his underdog opponent.

The World Grand Prix champion hadn't previously reached the kind of standards we'd seen from him for much of the season, which also helped him win the World Cup and World Series as well as five non-televised ranking titles, but on this evidence he may well have timed his title tilt to perfection.

He ended up with an average of 100.92 compared to Bunting's 96.38 while he threw 15 of the 26 180s and he also pinned 47% of his doubles - which at one stage was bolstered by an astonishing strike rate of 10 out of 10 on double 10.

Bunting, who was featuring in just his third PDC major semi-final and first since the 2015 UK Open, can proud of his fantastic efforts during his best ever Ally Pally run that will unquestionably revive his dreams of fulfilling his potential and getting back amongst the world's elite.

At one stage the former Lakeside champion looked on course for an upset win when moving 3-1 up thanks to a near faultless display on the outer ring but his checkout percentage of around 80% at that stage eventually had to come down to a more human 52.94% by the end of the contest.

The match started in the same explosive fashion as it continued, with Price answering Bunting's 120 checkout with a finish from 109 in the opening two legs before defying another from 117 to pinch the decider for a 1-0 lead.

The Welshman landed a stunning 140 checkout to complete a 12-darter for a 2-0 lead in the second set but didn't even get another attempt at a double as Bunting stormed back to take three legs in succession to level matters.

Price's third 100+ checkout of 116 was also in vain as Bunting responded with a pair of clinical 12-darters on his way to a 2-1 set lead and he'd then extend his advantage by taking the next 3-1 with the help of a 136 that preceded a 131 from his opponent.

The former rugby player then went on the rampage by taking six of the next eight legs, including a sixth-set winning checkout of 100, to restore parity at 3-3 while another from 128 to complete a 12-darter put him 2-0 up in the seventh.

However he was made to pay for missing a set dart at tops in the next leg - and another at double five in the fifth - as Bunting swooped with punishing checkouts of 148 and 118 to move back ahead at 4-3.

Even when Price hasn't been at his best during this tournament, his battling hard-to-beat qualities come to the fore and he drew on those once again to bounce back from that disappointment by racing through the eighth set 3-1 with a 13-darter and a pair of 12s, averaging 113 in those four legs.

Price ensured the pair would break the 100+ checkout record with a 112 finish at the start of the ninth set, which he sealed 3-0 with an 11-darter sealed the ninth set by a 3-0 scoreline while a 103 in what proved to be the last gave him a share of van Gerwen's individual record of eight and took the match tally to 13.

Far more importantly, he booked his place his maiden World Championship semi-final having been so bitterly disappointed to lose to eventual champion Peter Wright at this stage 12 months ago and now he can aim for the greatest prize of all.

Price told www.pdc.tv: "That's the best I've played in this tournament and I needed to. I'm here to win this and I'm in the final so I've got every chance now. Stephen played really well and he punished me whenever I slipped up. There were a couple of sets where I was 2-0 up and he came bag. He gave me a really good battle.

"I'm full of confidence after this game. I definitely improved for this match but there is a lot more in the tank. I always seem to find that bit of extra edge when I need to and I know I have got what it takes to win the final."

MATCH STATS

• Averages
  Bunting: 96.38
  Price: 100.92
• 180s
  Bunting: 11
  Price:15
• 140+
  Bunting: 28
  Price: 31
• 100+
  Bunting: 11
  Price: 15
• Doubles
  Bunting: 18/34 (52.94%)
  Price: 25/53 (47.17%)
• 100+ Checkouts
  Bunting: 148, 136, 120, 118, 117,
  Price: 140, 131, 128, 116, 112, , 109, 103, 100

Dave Chisnall 3-6 Gary Anderson

• Set scores: 2-3, 3-2, 2-3, 1-3, 3-1, 2-3, 3-1, 0-3, 0-3

Gary Anderson overpowered Michael van Gerwen's conqueror Dave Chisnall 6-3 to reach his fifth World Championship final at the Ally Pally.

The 2015 and 2016 champion came into the tournament off the back of a difficult season that he'd "written off" off due to injury problems and a lack of consistency but he now stands just one win a way from getting his hands on the Sid Waddell Trophy for the third time in a glorious career.

Anderson, who also surprised himself by reaching last summer's World Matchplay final amidst the same difficulties, branded his latest performance as "terrible" but he still managed to average 100.03 compared to Chizzy's 98.57 and match his opponent in the 180 department with 13.

In contrast to the first semi-final, both players struggled on their doubling, with Anderson converting 22 of his 60 attempts at doubles as Chisnall spurned 29 of his 45 although the St Helens man did catch the tournament's sixth Big Fish finish of 170 in his haul of four 100+ checkouts.

Anderson, who managed a couple himself from 124 and 116, will need to improve on most if he's to exact revenge on Gerwyn Price in a repeat of the controversial 2018 Grand Slam of Darts final if the Welshman is anywhere near the level he was against Stephen Bunting.

Chisnall will be gutted not to have backed up his sensational 5-0 triumph over Michael van Gerwen 24 hours earlier, in which he averaged 107 in one of the greatest performances ever seen at the Ally Pally, and perhaps his biggest regret will be his failure to win another leg after working so hard to break the Anderson throw in the seventh set to reduce his lead to 4-3.

The popular St Helens thrower missed all seven attempts at doubles during those last six legs as his dream of reaching a first Ally Pally final faded as quickly as Anderson powered into his fifth.

"I've come here with no expectations whatsoever but I've managed to make it through to the final so it can't be bad," said Anderson. "It didn't feel like a great game so I was surprised to see that I averaged over 100. It didn't feel like that.

"I feel like I've played alright for most of this tournament and I'll give it a good go in the final. I think I need to play better against Gerwyn but I'll just play my darts and he'll play his. I'll be quiet and he'll be loud and we'll see how it goes."

MATCH STATS

• Averages
  Chisnall: 98.57
  Anderson: 100.03
• 180s
  Chisnall: 13
  Anderson: 13
• 140+
  Chisnall: 23
  Anderson: 30
• 100+
  Chisnall: 51
  Anderson: 39
• Doubles
  Chisnall: 16/45 (35.56%)
  Anderson: 22/60 (36.67%)
• 100+ Checkouts
  Chisnall: 170, 124, 121, 119
  Anderson: 124, 116

World Championship: Saturday results and Sunday schedule

Saturday January 2
Evening Session (1800 GMT)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts
Semi-Finals (Best of 11 sets)

• Stephen Bunting (96.38) 4-6 (100.92) Gerwyn Price
  Set scores: 2-3, 3-2, 3-2, 3-1, 1-3, 1-3, 3-2, 1-3, 0-3, 1-3
• Dave Chisnall (98.57) 3-6 (100.03) Gary Anderson
  Set scores: 2-3, 3-2, 2-3, 1-3, 3-1, 2-3, 3-1, 0-3, 0-3

Sunday January 3
Evening Session (1930 GMT)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts
Final (Best of 13 sets)

• Gary Anderson v Gerwyn Price

CLICK HERE FOR FULL TOURNAMENT RESULTS AND AVERAGES

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