Michael van Gerwen celebrates his triumph (Kelly Deckers, PDC Europe)

European Darts Grand Prix: Michael van Gerwen wins his 10th title of 2018 by defeating James Wade

Darts

Thu May 10, 2018 · 7y ago

Michael van Gerwen averaged 110 in a stunning display as he defeated James Wade 8-3 in the European Darts Grand Prix final.

The Dutchman hardly gave the Machine a chance in Sindelfingen as he nailed 50% of his doubles, produced a high checkout of 161 and also weighed in with three 180s.

It capped off a superb weekend for MVG as he averaged a staggering 107.58 overall for his five games, that also included a crushing 7-0 demolition of fellow Premier League Play-Offs contender Michael Smith thanks to an average of 109.6, to further underline his status as the world's number one.

That said, Van Gerwen was pushed to the limit by Dave Chisnall in a gripping quarter-final in which the pair posted averages of 109.54 and 107.5 respectively while he only just edged out Darren Webster 6-5 in the previous round.

This is MVG's 10th ranking success of the season, including three on the European Tour that takes his career tally to 23, while he's now collected 107 singles titles of a remarkable career. And he's only 29.

Van Gerwen said: "I think that was my best tournament ever. Three 110 averages, what more do you want? When you have to fight for something, you appreciate it more. I'm a very happy man.

"Other players always push me, and I have to do something special to win these games. James is back on track and playing consistently well again. He pushed me all the way especially at the start of the game."

Wade's highlight of his impressive march to the final was a 6-5 success over world champion Rob Cross in the third round, taking out 117 in the deciding leg and ending with an average of 100.

The Englishman, who was searching for his first PDC title since landing the European Matchplay in 2016, then defeated Simon Whitlock 6-3 and Danny Noppet 7-3 to reach the final only to come up short against a relentless MVG.

Wade said: "The first three or four legs I brought the game to him but after that I wasn't good enough. I'm stepping in the right direction, it's not there but it's nearly there. Hats off to Michael, he played brilliantly all day."