I thought we were heading towards an all-Welsh final on Sunday night before Josh Rock poured cold water on that with a thrilling 16-11 win over Gerwyn Price. However, I do fancy Jonny Clayton to fulfil his end of the bargain by defeating James Wade in the first of Saturday’s two semi-final ties.

It could be argued that ‘The Ferret’ has been the most impressive and consistent performer of this year's four semi-finalists in Blackpool. The other three arrowsmiths have all at one stage or another had the odd wobble or drop off en route to this stage, whereas Clayton has powered past each of his three opponents with minimum fuss. The manner of Clayton’s victory over Stephen Bunting in the previous round was the pick of the bunch, with the Welshman racing into a 5-0 lead before completing an emphatic 16-7 victory.  

While I’m not expecting Clayton to have things all his own way against Wade, I suspect he will prove too hot to handle in a race to 17. ‘The Machine’ used his nous and experience to navigate a few bumps along the road in his quarter-final win over Gian van Veen, but Clayton won’t be so accommodating.

Given what we have seen from him so far, I’m more than happy to support Josh Rock with a +5.5 start against Luke Littler on Saturday night. After inspiring Northern Ireland to World Cup glory at last month’s World Cup of Darts, Rock has made a massive splash at this year's World Matchplay. He made light work of Ross Smith in round one before sending both Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price packing.

Admittedly, I thought ‘Rocky’ would come unstuck against Price, however he produced a blistering display to deservedly take his place in the last four. That triumph felt like a coming-of-age moment for the Antrim ace and I think he has a real chance of toppling another heavyweight here in the shape of Luke Littler.

After opening up with a statement win over Ryan Searle, Littler has been pushed all the way in his victories over both Jermaine Wattimena and Andrew Gilding, winning each of those respective matches by just a two-leg margin. Given that Rock will represent Littler’s toughest test so far, I’m more than happy to oppose ‘The Nuke’ with a steep handicap hurdle to overcome, in a game that could go all the way.