Our Blog

Michael van Gerwen’s sensational run of success continued on Sunday evening as he won the European Darts Open in Dusseldorf with a 6-2 final victory over Simon Whitlock.

The 24-year-old Dutch star, who was crowned as Premier League Darts Champion on Thursday, followed it up by claiming his eight PDC title of 2013.

‘Mighty Mike’ defeated Andre Welge, Wayne Jones, Terry Jenkins, Gary Anderson and Peter Wright to reach the final, where he saw off ‘The Wizard’ to clinch the £20,000 first prize.

“It’s been a brilliant few days,”  van Gerwen told the PDC’s official website.

“I’m a bit tired at the moment but winning is the most important thing, and I’m very glad I saved my best game for the final.

“Simon beat me the last time we played in a final and I knew I needed to play a proper game to beat him, and I think I showed my class with a very good performance tonight.”

The highlight of Whitlock’s charge to the final was a dazzling display in his last eight triumph over Justin Pipe, when the Australian hit eight 180s and took out a 170 finish.

van Gerwen and Whitlock will join the likes of James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld in Dubai next week as the top eight player in world darts compete in the inaugural Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters.

By Chris Murphy