The World Matchplay is almost at its conclusion.
This summer’s showpiece event in Blackpool has been a brilliant spectacle of darting brilliance, and now we’re down to the final four.
The semi-finals take place on Saturday, and it’s fair to say there are some spicy match-ups on offer here.
Michael van Gerwen faces Michael Smith while James Wade faces Luke Humphries in an all-English clash in the other semi-final.
As he has done all week, Phil Taylor has had a go at predicting the results of Saturday’s semi-final games, and after Taylor correctly predicted that Michael Smith would beat Rob Cross, he’s backing Bully Boy to get to the final where he expects Smith to face Luke Humphries.
Phil Taylor’s World Matchplay final prediction
The Power shared his verdict on how these two semi-final games will go.
“Today I’m going to go for a double. I will go for Michael Smith to beat Michael van Gerwen and I will go for Luke Humphries to beat James Wade. Good luck and stay safe,” Taylor said.
Smith vs Humphries a dream final
Michael Smith vs Luke Humphries would perhaps be the best final the Matchplay could throw up.
Just a month on from winning the World Cup as teammates the two darting giants would be going head-to-head for one of the sport’s biggest prizes.
Of course, Van Gerwen and Wade will have something to say about this.
MVG has shown some real grit this week in getting past Luke Littler and making a comeback to beat Andrew Gilding, while James Wade has rediscovered his A-game despite almost failing to qualify for this tournament.
This is a very intriguing semi-final match-up, and while anything is possible, Taylor reckons that Smith and Humphries will come away victorious after Saturday night’s action.
The Matchplay final is bound to be a cracker regardless of who plays in it.