Michael van Gerwen wins the German Darts Championship title (Picture: Kais Bodensieck/PDC Europe)

Darts results: Michael van Gerwen wins the German Darts Championship against Rob Cross

By Sporting Life

Darts

Sun March 13, 2022 · 3y ago

Michael van Gerwen won his first ranking title in front of a crowd since 2020 as he beat Rob Cross in the German Darts Championship final.

Van Gerwen produced a superb display at Halle 39 in Hildesheim, coming from 4-1 down to triumph 8-4 and end an almost three-year wait for the 33rd European Tour title of his career.

The Dutchman's first ranking crown of the season lifts him back up to third in the world and follows on from his back-to-back Premier League successes in the past couple of weeks.

MVG began the day with a battling 6-4 victory over Martin Lukeman before benefitting from Peter Wright's withdrawal with a back injury to move into the semi-finals.

There he edged past Dimitri Van den Bergh 7-6 in a high-class affair in which he had to survive three match darts but he saved his best performance for Voltage as he reeled off seven legs on the spin.

"I've been working for this for a really long time and it means a lot to me," said Van Gerwen, who returns to third on the PDC Order of Merit following the win.

"To win a [European Tour] tournament again feels absolutely phenomenal. I keep fighting and I never give up. I'm not done yet!

"Everyone knows I love to play tournaments in Germany - the crowds have been absolutely fantastic, and it means the world."

Cross had to produce a rousing comeback from 4-2 down in his quarter-final with Karel Sedlacek, reeling off four straight legs to keep his hopes of Hildesheim glory alive.

He subsequently averaged 100 in his 7-4 semi-final defeat of Daryl Gurney to follow up an earlier 99 average in a 6-3 third round win over Dirk van Duijvenbode.

However, the European Championship winner fell just short of finally claiming a European Tour title, but said: "Michael played great and I missed my chances.

"He took them and that's what he used to do. I'm happy for him that he got over the line; he's winning and working hard and I've been in the same boat.

"It's nice to see him back a little bit, and hopefully I can keep improving for the future."

Premier League duo Michael Smith and Jonny Clayton joined Sedlacek in losing out at the quarter-final stage, while Van den Bergh's wait to reach a European Tour final continues following his narrow semi-final defeat.

Smith had averaged over 108 in his brilliant 6-1 third round win over Dave Chisnall, while Czech ace Sedlacek finished six doubles from 11 attempts in his 6-4 defeat of Jose de Sousa to reach his first European Tour quarter-final for three years.