Adrian Lewis withstands Raymond van Barneveld fightback to reach final

Adrian Lewis has held off a spirited comeback from Raymond van Barneveld to reach the World Championship final.

Lewis stormed through the opening set as Van Barneveld struggled for consistency on the treble 20, but at the sixth time of asking, the Dutchman finally got a leg on the board before levelling the second set with a 161 checkout.

However, Lewis completed a 12-dart leg with a 100 checkout to move two sets ahead, before coasting through the third as Van Barneveld struggled to keep pace with the 2011 and 2012 champion.

Van Barneveld improved in the fourth, and registered a second 161 finish, but Lewis edged another set in the final leg to put himself two sets away from the final.

It soon became 5-0, but as he found himself on the brink of defeat, Van Barneveld launched a fightback, recording three sets in a row as Lewis began to falter.

However, the Stoke-on-Trent thrower finally regained his composure to take the ninth set 3-1 to book a showdown with either Gary Anderson or Jelle Klaasen.