Luke Humphries whitewashes Scott Williams to set up final with Luke Littler

Having edged out Ricardo Pietreczko and Joe Cullen in deciding-set tussles, Humphries powered in a 103 average in his quarter-final demolition of Dave Chisnall, before upping the ante against a helpless Williams.

The 28-year-old kicked off the contest with a brilliant 11-darter, which set the tone for one of the greatest performances ever seen on the Alexandra Palace stage.

Humphries maintained his electric start with successive 121 and 136 checkouts in set two, and the big finishing continued in set three, as he followed up a magical 170 with a set-winning 126 combination to race 3-0 ahead.

Despite surviving a scare in set four, Humphries continued the procession with an outrageous fifth set display, producing his second 121 finish of the contest and averaging 122 to establish a seemingly unassailable cushion.

Williams kept battling away bravely, but he was unable to avoid the whitewash, as Humphries reeled off legs of 13, 16 and 16 darts in the closing stages to celebrate another personal milestone.

"This is a massive, massive moment for me," admitted Humphries, who has scooped World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals titles since October.

"I think it's probably one of the best performances I've ever produced on the big stage. I just hope it didn't come one game too early!

"I needed to put in a statement performance because Luke was fantastic tonight. Every aspect of my game was as I wanted it to be, and it's such a special moment.

"Becoming world number one is something you can only dream of as a kid, but tomorrow would stay with me forever if I become World Champion, so my mind is fully focused on that."

Humphries is aiming to cap off a sensational 2023 campaign by becoming only the third player - alongside Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen - to win four Premier TV titles in the space of 12 months.