Luke Humphries and James Wade to meet in Betfred World Matchplay final four

Humphries defeated Van den Bergh 16-10 to reach the Blackpool semi-finals for a second successive year.

Wade overcame Smith by the same scoreline to reach the final four for the first time in nine years.

The pair will meet on Saturday in what promises to be an unmissable night of semi-final action at the Winter Gardens.

World number one Humphries was embroiled in a battle with Van den Bergh before winning the last five legs in a stunning sprint to the finish line.

He said: “I’m proud of myself tonight, I worked incredibly hard in the last session to get over the line.

“After the first five legs I felt tired and deflated, I just didn’t feel like my usual self up there tonight.

“In the last break I said to myself ‘stick in there, don’t give in’ and that’s what I did.

“I know I’m in for an incredibly hard game on Saturday. I’ve been practicing with James this week, I know how well he’s playing so it was no surprise to me that he won tonight.”

A sensational start from Humphries saw him race into a 3-0 lead, but Van den Bergh won the next four legs to lead for the first time.

Humphries hit a 10-dart leg to go 8-7 up before hitting a 115 finish on his way to an 11-8 lead.

Van den Bergh, the 2020 champion, showed typical resilience by winning back-to-back legs in reducing Humphries’ lead to just one at 11-10.

Humphries then put his foot to the floor, hitting a 164 checkout in a five-leg flurry that sealed his place in the final four.

The opening game of the night saw 2007 champion Wade produce a vintage display, averaging 100.30 and hitting 13 180s to reach a ninth World Matchplay semi-final.

Smith flew out of the traps, averaging 114 in the opening five legs to take a 3-2 lead.

Wade landed checkouts of 120 and 121 on his way to leading 6-4, before hitting his third ton-plus finish of the match to make it 8-5.

After Wade missed four darts for a 10-5 cushion, Smith took advantage with a clinical 107 finish to cut the gap to 9-6.

Wade then kicked for home, winning three of the next four legs to take a 12-7 lead, before Smith took out 107 for a second time to stay in touch.

Smith continued to scrap, hitting a magnificent 161 checkout to stay in contention at 13-10.

That proved to be his last leg as Wade reeled off a trio of legs to seal victory.

“I feel really good after that,” said Wade.

“I enjoyed the game, it was a great game and I’m just glad that I played a little bit better than Ross on the night.

“He played really well at the start; I felt like I dragged him into a scrap and then I took charge.

“My scoring was good but I’ve been playing a lot better in practice so it’s not something I’m surprised by.

“I thought I could have played better at times and I know I can play a lot better than that.”