No messing around on the double this time - Michael van Gerwen narrowly misses double 10 for a 140 checkout, but he hits it with the first dart of his next visit.

MvG is now two sets away from victory, but the set format gives Chris Dobey a fighting chance of a comeback.

It's far from over.

Chris Dobey somehow stops the rot - both players are struggling at the moment and after a few missed darts by Van Gerwen to win the set, Dobey stumbles over the winning line in the leg.

John Part
Former PDC world champion on Sky Sports

Chris Dobey is just not at the races at the moment.

Five legs in a row for Van Gerwen after the Dutchman lost the third set.

Again, it's a bit of a scrappy leg which Michael van Gerwen wins.

Not the best scoring leg for both players, Chris Dobey misses a couple of darts at double and Michael van Gerwen steps in to break throw.

Image source, Getty Images

Chris Dobey may not have been this far at the World Championship before, but he is no stranger to the winner's circle at a major PDC event.

He claimed wins over Luke Humphries, Michael Smith and Rob Cross on his way to victory at the 2023 Masters.

Dobey also competed in that year's Premier League and won the first weekly tournament, but failed to qualify for the semi-finals.

He's got work to do here if he's going to make his maiden world final.

Rod Studd
Commentator on Sky Sports

Normal programming is resumed for the Green Machine on the Ally Pally stage.

Wow, that fourth set was over very quickly!

Michael van Gerwen has a two-set advantage once more and is halfway to a seventh World Championship final appearance.

180, 180 - Michael van Gerwen is on the nine-darter...

But the seventh dart into the perfect leg lands outside the treble 20 bed and the crowd boos.

Van Gerwen will take a 10-dart leg to break, though.

After a clean sweep for Chris Dobey in the third set, Michael van Gerwen gets back on track with another 100 checkout, his second of the match.

Rod Studd
Commentator on Sky Sports

Some Hollywood finishing from Chris 'Hollywood' Dobey.

Image source, PA Media

Chris Dobey follows the 170 checkout with a 108 in the very next leg and he halves his deficit in sets.

For the uninitiated, a 170 checkout is known as the "big fish" in the trade.

Both players leave themselves on 170, the highest number you can check out to win a leg.

And Michael van Gerwen doesn't get a look at it because Chris Dobey takes it out!

A break of throw for Dobey, who looks poised to pull a set back.

Two darts missed at double 16 for Michael van Gerwen, meaning Chris Dobey gets a look at 80.

Double top is missed and MvG is back for double eight - but he hits double 16 and busts his score!

Then Dobey needs all three darts in his hand to take the leg.

A leg that gives those averages mentioned in the previous post a bit of a hammering.

Chris Dobey is averaging more than 101 in the first two sets, compared to 96.54 for Michael van Gerwen, but the man they call "Hollywood" finds himself 2-0 down in sets.

The players are back on stage after a short break and we're off and running again.

Image source, PA Media

There's a strange quirk which means that whichever of the four semi-finalists wins the World Championship will rise to number two in the world rankings.

The PDC's Order of Merit, external is based on a two-year rolling total of prize money earned from ranking events.

Whatever the outcome, nobody can catch last year's world champion Luke Humphries, who will remain as world number one with a total of just over £1.8m.

But the winner's prize of £500,000 will be enough to lift whichever semi-finalist goes all the way at Alexandra Palace into second spot.

John Part
Former PDC world champion on Sky Sports

Michael van Gerwen roars as if to say I am MVG and I'm up two sets to nil.

A trademark punch of the air and roar from Michael van Gerwen as he clinches the second set - but not before Chris Dobey had missed three darts at double to level the match.

How big will that moment be?

Double 16 found by Chris Dobey - we're going all the way in set two.