Van Gerwen Claims Eighth European Title Of 2018
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN claimed his eighth European Tour title of the year as he defeated James Wade 8-3 in the final of the European Darts Trophy in Gottingen on Sunday.
Van Gerwen was at his phenomenal best throughout the weekend at the Lokhalle, averaging over 100 in every match as he continued his dominance on the European Tour in 2018.
The final of the 135,000 pound tournament saw a replay of the European Darts Grand Prix final in May, which Van Gerwen also won 8-3, and the Dutchman proved too strong once again as he clinched the 25,000 pound top prize.
"I think I played a phenomenal tournament, you can only dream about a performance like this," said Van Gerwen, who now has 28 European Tour titles to his name.
"Now I can look back on a good European Tour season for me, but I have to keep my concentration for the important tournaments coming up.
"I never get bored of winning, I want to keep going until I get to 50 European Tour titles at least!"
Van Gerwen was at his unstoppable best from the start of the weekend, defeating fellow-Dutchman Vincent van der Voort 6-2 on Saturday evening before a 106.5 average saw him power past Stephen Bunting 6-4 into the quarter-finals.
There, he repeated his 106.5 average to see off Daryl Gurney 6-2 and followed it up with a 7-2 rout of Michael Smith to reach his 33rd European Tour final.
The showpiece of the Gottingen event began brightly for two-time European Tour event winner Wade, who landed a 95 finish to take an early 2-1 advantage.
However, back-to-back 12-dart finishes from Van Gerwen saw him take a lead which he never relinquished, with a showpiece bullseye-19-bullseye finish to take out 119 which put him 4-2 up.
After the two-time World Champion missed double top for a 160, Wade tidied up 82 to stay in the contest at 4-3, but that was as good as it got for Wade as Van Gerwen mercilessly fired off the next four legs in emphatic style to lift the European Darts Trophy for a third successive year.
Wade's run to his fourth PDC ranking final of the year saw him record wins over Toni Alcinas, Darren Webster, Rob Cross and Richard North.
"I go into every tournament expecting to do well, so I'm not surprised I made the final," said Wade.
"I can't believe I played so poorly in the final but sometimes that happens, I'm sure I will be able to take the positives from this weekend over the next few days."
The European Darts Trophy was the 13th and final European Tour event of 2018, with the leading 32 players from the European Tour Order of Merit qualifying for the European Championship in Dortmund, which will take place from October 25-28.