European Tour 1 – Dutch Darts Masters:

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN won his third successive Dutch Darts Masters title with a brilliant 6-2 defeat of Daryl Gurney in Sunday’s European Tour decider in Venray as the Northern Irish ace reached his first PDC final.

World number one van Gerwen, who won five European Tour events in 2015, took the £25,000 first prize to open this year’s ten-tournament season in style in front of over 4,000 fans at the Evenementenhal. The Dutch hero had defeated John Henderson in Saturday’s second round before seeing off Justin Pipe, Dave Chisnall and Mervyn King on his way to the final, landing a 170 checkout in his semi-final defeat of King.

However, he saved his best display of the weekend for the final as he stormed past Gurney 6-2 with a 112.26 average. Van Gerwen kicked off the final with a stunning 152 checkout, with Gurney levelling with a 180 and a 116 finish only to see the Dutchman reel off five 180s in three legs as he fired in legs of 13, 11 and 12 darts to move 4-1 up.

Tops for a 14-darter saw van Gerwen move to the brink of victory, and though Gurney responded with double eight for a 14-dart finish, van Gerwen landed another maximum to set up tops for a 13-darter and the title. “It feels incredible,” said van Gerwen. “It’s fantastic for myself and for the home crowd, and in the final I played good darts.

“I hope I can carry this on for the rest of the season but I’m playing well and I’m very pleased with this performance. I want to win as many tournaments as possible and I showed today that I was the best in this tournament.” Gurney’s run to a first PDC final earned him £10,000 prize money as he moved into the world’s top 32 for the first time, after he impressed with some superb displays throughout the Dutch Darts Masters.

Final – Leg-By-Leg

Michael van Gerwen v Daryl Gurney
1-0 – van Gerwen claims the opening leg with a brilliant 152 checkout.1-1 – Gurney levels with  a superb 12-darter, landing a 180 and finishing 116 on double 18. 2-1 – The pair trade 180s before van Gerwen pins double 14 for a 13-darter to regain the lead. 3-1 – van Gerwen tees up a possible nine-darter by opening with two 180s, and he hits a seventh treble 20 before missing treble 19 on a 141 finish. He returns to win the leg in 11 darts to break. 4-1 – van Gerwen pushes his average up to 118 with a brilliant 12-darter, hitting two 180s and an 84 finish on double 12, with Gurney landing one maximum in reply. 5-1 – The Dutchman lands tops for a 14-dart leg to move to the brink of the title. 5-2 – Gurney keeps his hopes alive by pinning double eight for a 14-darter. 6-2 – van Gerwen fires in a 180 to leave tops before hitting the bed at the first time of asking to complete a 13-darter and claim a third successive Dutch Darts Masters title.

Sunday February 14th

Third Round
102.65 Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Justin Pipe 90.90
104.44 Dave Chisnall 6-2 Ritchie Edhouse 89.15
94.76 Devon Petersen 2-6 Mervyn King 101.82
100.55 James Wade 1-6 Benito van de Pas 103.67
95.30 Michael Smith 5-6 Mensur Suljovic 95.60
91.61 Simon Whitlock 6-3 Jelle Klaasen 89.65
93.98 Adrian Lewis 6-2 Terry Jenkins 88.26
103.27 Peter Wright 4-6 Daryl Gurney 105.18

Quarter-Finals
103.45 Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Dave Chisnall 103.72
91.27 Mervyn King 6-5 Benito van de Pas 93.62
102.10 Mensur Suljovic 6-3 Simon Whitlock 95.29
98.29 Adrian Lewis 4-6 Daryl Gurney 106.84

Semi-Finals
96.59 Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Mervyn King 88.96
83.51 Mensur Suljovic 1-6 Daryl Gurney 93.46

Final
112.26 Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Daryl Gurney 96.89

Prize Fund:

Winner: £25,000
Runner-up: £10,000
Semi-Finalists: £5,000
Quarter-Finalists: £3,500
Last 16 losers: £2,000
Last 32 losers: £1,500
Last 48 losers: £1,000
Total: £115,000