Grand Slam of Darts 2017: Phil Taylor, Michael Van Gerwen Reach Semi-Finals

Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen reached the semi-finals after winning in the 2017 Grand Slam of Darts at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall on Saturday.

Taylor was in vintage form as he turned the clock back to destroy world No. 4 Daryl Gurney 16-4 after winning 12 legs in a row. Meanwhile, Van Gerwen was pushed further by Rob Cross but eventually broke open a 10-10 tie to win 16-13.

MVG will meet Taylor in the last four on Sunday as Gary Anderson takes on Peter Wright in the other semi-final, with the action beginning at 1 p.m. GMT, per the PDC official website.

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Gurney missed on double-four at 1-1 after Taylor had hit a 140 to put pressure on the Irishman's finish. A double-18 and tops let Taylor go 2-1 ahead before The Power completed a 115 checkout to make it 3-1.

Gurney's response was to his credit, hitting a maximum to reduce the gap at the first interval.

SuperChin couldn't build on his win, and a hurried throw at double-19 let Taylor take out double-14 to increase his lead. Gurney was far from done, though, and battled back brilliantly to level things at four apiece after pinning double-16 for a 41 finish.

Live Darts detailed the solid average achieved by Gurney during the early stages of this tense contest:

Typically, Taylor broke back immediately, finding double-12 to go back in front. Sky Sports Darts relayed the back-and-forth sequence of the second session:

An unerring throw for tops saw Taylor enter the second interval with a two-leg lead intact. The Power was making the most of his chances on doubles:

Taylor stepped it up when play resumed again, racing into a 9-4 lead after securing another vital break of throw. His average caught the eye as Taylor hit his groove at the right time:

It was tops for 10-4, then double-six to seal a checkout of 132 for a seven-leg lead to put Gurney closer to elimination. Gurney couldn't snap his eight-leg losing streak when he missed two darts at double-five, allowing Taylor to pin double-two and move three away from the semi-finals.

The signature moment of Taylor's dominance came in the next leg when he completed a remarkable 137 checkout by hitting treble-20, treble-19 and double-10.

Tops wrapped up one of the great wins of Taylor's storied career. Live Darts detailed his stellar scoring:

Taylor was simply different class to Gurney, who is also a supremely talented player but one who couldn't lay a glove on The Power here.

Afterward, Taylor took aim at Gurney's downcast body language:

Later, Van Gerwen roared back from 2-0 down to take the lead headed into the first interval. Mighty Mike was producing a healthy scoring average early on:

MVG found bullseye to wrap up an 81 checkout and move 4-3 ahead, but every time he tried to pull away, Cross would answer. A 44 finish saw the latter even things at 5-5 at the next interval.

Cross found double-69 to punish Van Gerwen and even things at six each after the break. MVG's response was a 102 checkout to once again take the lead.

Typically, Cross answered back immediately, pinning double-four to restore the deadlock. Cross was applying the pressure by being more than solid on doubles:

A treble-13 and double-16 completed a 131 checkout and a crucial break of throw for Cross. Double-four made it 9-7 and left MVG reeling.

Trailing 10-8, it was time for the world No. 1 to dig deep. Van Gerwen did so and eventually evened things after hitting tops with the final dart ahead of the next interval

The scoring from both players was outstanding:

Treble-18 and bull completed a 122 finish and put Mighty Mike 12-11 ahead. He then hit double-16 to wrap a 108 checkout in what felt like the decisive moment in the match.

Van Gerwen was 14-11 in front when he inexplicably missed the board to let Cross cut the gap. The Green Machine rallied with back-to-back maximums and double-eight to move one leg away from the last four.

Double-18 sent Van Gerwen through for another meeting with Taylor. Both players are in superb form ahead of what should be the standout match of the tournament.