Michael van Gerwen progressed to the final of the PDC World Darts Championship on Monday night, but it was not a match without controversy.
Van Gerwen took a decisive 6-0 victory in sets over Belgian Dimitri van den Bergh, as he continued his quest to take a fourth championship at the Ally Pally.
Never too far from controversy, van Gerwen got on the nerves of his Belgian opponent during the third set, with van den Bergh briefly halting the match in frustration at van Gerwen's encroachment.
Michael van Gerwen attempts to intimidate Dimitri van den Bergh
It was a tough start to Monday's PDC World Darts Championship semi-final for Dimitri van den Bergh. Appearing in the last four for the first time, van den Bergh would understandably have been feeling the pressure after going 2-0 down to three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen at the Alexandra Palace in North London.
The iconic venue was to see controversy moments later. During the first leg of the third set, van Gerwen stood uncomfortably close to van den Bergh as he lined up three shots. Van den Bergh attempted the first, before pausing to display his frustration with van Gerwen for his encroachment into the shooting space.
Dimitri Van den Bergh is NOT happy...👀👟 pic.twitter.com/6UaAZ3gHjK
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) January 2, 2023
Van Gerwen eventually - and reluctantly - moved back to allow van den Bergh space to calmly take his shots. The Dutchman would ultimately go on to demolish his more inexperienced opponent, taking a 6-0 victory in sets to progress to the final of the world championship for the sixth time.
Van Gerwen is no stranger to controversy. Earlier this year, he denied employing gamesmanship tactics during his victory over Luke Humphries at the Masters, while he has previously come under fire from the likes of Phil Taylor for similar accusations.
Michael van Gerwen will face off with namesake Michael Smith in the PDC World Darts Championship final on Tuesday evening at the Ally Pally.
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