UK Open champion Michael van Gerwen (Picture: Lawrence Lustig/PDC)

Darts results: Michael van Gerwen hits nine-darter before beating Gerwyn Price in UK Open final

By Chris Hammer

08:20 · MON March 09, 2020

Michael van Gerwen hit a nine-dart finish and won the Ladbrokes UK Open on an unforgettable night at the Butlin's Minehead Resort.

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Michael van Gerwen emphatically cemented his position as world number one by overcoming Gerwyn Price in another gripping instalment of their blockbuster rivalry to win the UK Open for the third time in his career.

The 2015 and 2016 champion headed into the 'dream final' just 30 minutes after hitting his seventh televised PDC nine-darter during his thumping 11-3 victory over Daryl Gurney and he followed it up in dramatic style with a 11-9 triumph that could so easily have gone the distance.

It was a repeat scoreline to the climax of the 2019 Players Championship Finals on this very stage in November, which van Gerwen also edged to get revenge for his Grand Slam of Darts semi-final defeat a week earlier, and also increases his domination in head-to-head meetings to 20-2, with a solitary Premier League draw.

Despite this record, many fans and pundits had been talking Price up as arguably the unofficial world's best player in the build-up to this major having seen him reach three successive PDC finals in two weeks and fourth of the season, including a Players Championship event in which he beat MVG for the title seven days before landing the inaugural Belgian Darts Championship.

Indeed, he looked on course to give more credence to this belief as he recorded four 100+ averages out of his five victories en route to his fourth major ranking final in the last five dating back to last year's European Championship and his 11-4 demolition job of fellow Welshman Jonny Clayton was pretty much as ruthless as it gets.

But while the Iceman was extending his hot streak to 25 wins out of his last 27 matches with just one scare along the way against Gabriel Clemens on Saturday, the Dutchman was reaching even higher standards throughout his campaign, apart from his alarming wobble against the relative unknown Jason Lowe.

Those two 10-9 wins were as close as either came to a shock exit and only the random nature of the FA Cup style draw could have prevented them meeting in the final.

MVG, who dethroned Nathan Aspinall on Friday night with a 105 average, posted 108 to crush James Wade on Saturday night and twice eclipsed marks of 110 during his 10-4 and 11-3 thrashings of Cross and Gurney, which included his second UK Open nine-darter and third on this very stage having also managed it at the Players Championship Finals last year.

However, it was Price who blasted out of the blocks the quicker despite MVG's opening visit being the first of 11 maximums and opened up a 4-1 lead by the first interval that included checkouts of 105 and 97.

The standard may not have been as scorching as their previous displays given the tension of the occasions but that mattered little to the two-time Grand Slam of Darts king who soon extended his advantage to 5-1 before agonisingly missing the bullseye for a 127 checkout.

Van Gerwen took his chance to reduce the deficit and then repeated the tick in the next leg after Price spurned an attempt at tops for another 100+ finish.

The Welshman held his wobbling game together enough to take the ninth leg despite missing a further three darts at doubles but his lead was soon whittled down to just 6-5 as the pressure evidently got to him.

Although Price edged 7-5 ahead, he'd go on a costly run of of spurning 12 attempts at the outer ring almost evenly across the next four legs and MVG would make him pay in all of them, with the help of a fantastic 136 checkout that put him 10-7 clear.

Price stopped the rot with a 94 checkout to stay alive and the crowd sensed a dramatic late comeback when he followed it up with another from 80 after MVG had missed his first match dart.

The 2017 UK Open runner-up, whose rapid rise up the rankings can be traced back to that defeat to Peter Wright three years ago, then had a golden opportunity to force a decider when his sixth 180 of the match left him 68.

However, after a treble one and single 15 left led to a missed attempt at the bullseye, van Gerwen returned to take out 66 before celebrating his latest moment of glory and a winners' cheque of £100,000.

Although this result breaks his title duck for 2020 having spent the first couple of months adapting to his new set of darts, it's the 134th of an incredible career and his 54th on TV.

The 30-year-old, who fell at the first hurdle in each of his last two UK Opens, told www.pdc.tv: "It's an incredible win and it means a lot to me to win this tournament. I've had a phenomenal tournament and the pressure was on me.

"It was a hard day for me, I had to play three Premier League players and it was not easy but I played really good darts and didn't do a lot wrong. The nine-darter was fantastic but with the way I was playing it was just a matter of time. That's just one leg though and I had to keep my focus.

"Gerwyn had his chances in the final but I took good advantage and I never missed a chance. That was important, so I only can be happy with this.

"This was a really important win for me. It's nothing to do with my darts and everyone knows that. If I play my game, no-one will beat me and I showed that today, but I need to do that more regularly. I can say whatever I want, but you have to show it on the dartboard. In this tournament I showed I was the best - my strength is keeping players under pressure leg after leg, and I did that today.

"Of course you put extra pressure on yourself. I played four Premier League players in the tournament and I didn't have the most easy draw, but to do this well and win this title means a lot to me. It feels good and I want to win more."

Price said: "Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, but I'll move onto the next one. I think Michael would agree that I probably lost that game.

"I bombed numerous opportunities - my scoring game was there but in three or four legs I bombed doubles. I could have been 9-6 up, but that's the way darts goes. If I hit my doubles, I think possibly I am the best player in the world - but at the moment Michael's there."

Scroll further down for semi-final round-up and a quarter-final review

Final Stats: Price 9-11 MVG

Averages

Price: 99.16
MVG: 101.44

180s

Price: 6
MVG: 11

Doubles

Price: 9/32
MVG: 10/23

100+ Checkouts

Price: 105
MVG: 136

Routes to the final and tournament stats

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN

Rd 4: 10-8 Nathan Aspinall
(Av: 105.48, 180s: 6, Doubles: 10/23, 100+ Outs: 2, High Out: 150)
Rd 5: 10-9 Jason Lowe
(Av: 95.63, 180s: 4, Doubles: 10/27, 100+ Outs: 2, High Out: 170)
Rd 6: 10-4 James Wade
(Av: 108.93, 180s: 6, Doubles: 10/14, 100+ Outs: 3, High Out: 116)
QF: 10-4 Rob Cross
(Av: 110.81, 180s: 4, Doubles: 10/21, 100+ Outs: 1, High Out: 127)
QF: 11-3 Daryl Gurney
(Av: 110.32, 180s: 5, Doubles: 11/21, 100+ Outs: 1, High Out: 141)

GERWYN PRICE

Rd 4: 10-3 Danny Noppert
(Av: 104.23, 180s: 2, Doubles: 10/14, 100+ Outs: 1, High Out: 126)
Rd 5: 10-3 v Ricky Evans
(Av: 98.6, 180s: 4, Doubles: 10/25, 100+ Outs: 1, High Out: 136)
Rd 6: 10-9 Gabriel Clemens
(Av: 102.87, 180s: 5, Doubles: 10/20, 100+ Outs: 1, High Out: 114)
QF: 10-5 Dimitri van den Bergh
(Av: 102.15, 180s: 4, Doubles: 10/17, 100+ Outs: 3, High Out: 144)
SF: 11-4 Jonny Clayton
(Av: 102.39, 180s: 5, Doubles: 11/25, 100+ Outs: 2, High Out: 112)

Semi-final round-up

Michael van Gerwen thrilled the Minehead crowd yet again by firing in the second nine-darter of the UK Open weekend in his thumping 11-3 semi-final victory over Daryl Gurney.

The Dutchman followed up back-to-back 180s with a checkout of 141 to complete the seventh televised perfect leg of his career (sixth in ranking events) and his third on this very stage at the Butlin's Minehead Resort having also managed it at the UK Open against Rob Cross back in 2016 and also during his clash with Adrian Lewis at last November's Players Championship Finals.

Van Gerwen averaged 110.32 in another imperious display as he romped into his third UK Open final and first since completing back-to-back triumphs in 2016.

His nine-darter came 24 hours afterJonny Clayton managed it on the Red's Bar stage against Chris Dobey on Saturday and is the 10th in UK Open history. The others to achieve it were Phil Taylor (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008), Mervyn King (2010), Gary Anderson (2012), Wes Newton (2013) and MVG's in 2016.

It's the first time there's been two perfect legs in the same tournament since James Wade and Robert Thornton managed it in the same match of the 2014 World Grand Prix.

His first career nine-darter came back in 2007 as a 17-year-old during a match against Raymond van Barneveld in the Masters of Darts invitational event. He remains the only teenager to have achieved this feat on TV.

His others were at the 2012 World Matchplay, 2013 World Championship, 2014 European Championship, 2016 UK Open and 2019 Players Championship Finals.

He will now meet Gerwyn Price after he reached his fourth PDC final is the space of three weeks after a crushing victory over Clayton at the UK Open.

The Iceman, who has won a Players Championship event and last weekend's Belgian Darts Championship during this time, ran out a convincing 11-4 winner and averaged 102.61 compared to his opponent's 90.43.

This will be Price's fourth major ranking final in the last five having won the Grand Slam of Darts and also finishing runner-up at last season's European Championship and Players Championship Finals.

He will now meet either Michael van Gerwen or Daryl Gurney in tonight's final.

AFTERNOON SESSION

Gerwyn Price maintained his hot streak of form as he reached his fifth successive major ranking semi-final with a high-class 10-5 victory over Dimitri van den Bergh.

The two-time Grand Slam of Darts champion was runner-up during his last visit to the Butlin's Minehead Resort at November's Players Championship Finals and also reached the last four of the World Championship since his second triumph in Wolverhampton, which followed a run to the European Championship final.

The Iceman has now won 23 of his last 25 matches which have helped him reach three PDC finals in as many weeks, including title-winning runs at a Players Championship event and the Belgian Darts Championship, so he'll take some stopping tonight.

Van den Bergh scored well enough to trouble him with a fractionally higher average of 102.38, which was helped by firing one more maximum with five, but ultimately it was their respective finishing which proved to be the difference.

Price fired in three 100+ checkouts of 144, 130 and 109 as he pinned 10 of his 18 attempts at doubles as the former two-time world youth champion spurned seven of his 12.

The Welshman will next meet compatriot Jonny Clayton after the Ferret survived eight match darts in a dramatic deciding leg against Jamie Hughes to reach his first major PDC semi-final.

Saturday's nine-dart hero stormed into an early 5-1 lead and then moved 6-2 ahead thanks to a 101 checkout that completed a fine 12-darter in an otherwise uneventful clash until the Tipton thrower fought his way back.

Hughes even went 8-7 ahead only for Clayton to produce a 100 finish to level the scores and then spurned four darts at doubles that allowed the Welshman to break him and go one leg from victory.

Yozza refused to give in, breaking back instantly to force a decider which he looked set to win when a visit of 177 left him tops, with Clayton back on 166.

Remarkably, despite being given three clear visits to complete the job as his opponent shambled around trying to reach a double, he wasted them all and Ferret eventually closed out a 20-darter.

If Price's performance was impressive, Michael van Gerwen raised the standard another couple of notches as he posted the ninth highest average in UK Open history with a mark of 110.81 against Rob Cross.

The two-time champion, who hasn't got his hands on this trophy since 2016 and is still without a title of any kind this year, reeled off six legs on the trot to claim a resounding 10-4 victory that was on a par with his performance against James Wade last night but stark contrast to the one that saw him struggle against rank outsider Jason Lowe.

Van Gerwen threw four 180s, pinned 10 of his 21 attempts to finish, including the bullseye for a 12-darter completing 127 checkout, and if he carries on in this vein of form, then his wait for a first title since beating Price in the Players Championship Finals could well end tonight.

Cross didn't play too badly but his average of 95.12 and five maximums were only enough to earn him a crack at nine doubles.

Daryl Gurney joined the 'big two' in the last four with a trademark battling display to see off Jelle Klaasen in what was his third deciding leg from four games.

The Northern Irishman came from 9-7 and 7-1 down against Keegan Brown and William O'Connor respectively in his opening two encounters - surviving three match darts in each - before last night's superb 10-6 triumph over world champion Peter Wright.

Gurney looked like he had taken control of the contest when three legs on the bounce saw him move 7-6 up but the surprise quarter-finalist refused to give and found 11 and 13 darters in the next five to send it to the wire.

The 2018 Players Championship Finals winner followed up his eighth 180 with another fine visit of 140 to surge clear while Klaasen failed to fine a treble with his opening 11 darts and that proved costly as Gurney stuttered over the line.

Gurney averaged 95.26, made the high finish of 113 and spurned 17 darts and doubles so he'll need to improve if he's to beat van Gerwen in the semi-finals.

Semi-Finalists: Routes so far

Michael van Gerwen

Rd 4: 10-8 Nathan Aspinall (Av: 105.48, 180s: 6, Doubles: 10/23, 100+ Checkouts: 2, High Out: 150)
Rd 5: 10-9 Jason Lowe (Av: 95.63, 180s: 4, Doubles: 10/27, 100+ Checkouts: 2, High Out: 170)
Rd 6: 10-4 James Wade (Av: 108.93, 180s: 6, Doubles: 10/14, 100+ Checkouts: 3, High Out: 116)
QF: 10-4 Rob Cross (Av: 110.81, 180s: 4, Doubles: 10/21, 100+ Checkouts: 1, High Out: 127)

Gerwyn Price

Rd 4: 10-3 Danny Noppert (Av: 104.23, 180s: 2, Doubles: 10/14, 100+ Checkouts: 1, High Out: 126)
Rd 5: 10-3 v Ricky Evans (Av: 98.6, 180s: 4, Doubles: 10/25, 100+ Checkouts: 1, High Out: 136)
Rd 6: 10-9 Gabriel Clemens (Av: 102.87, 180s: 5, Doubles: 10/20, 100+ Checkouts: 1, High Out: 114)
QF: 10-5 Dimitri van den Bergh (Av: 102.15, 180s: 4, Doubles: 10/17, 100+ Checkouts: 3, High Out: 144)

Daryl Gurney

Rd 4: 10-9 Keegan Brown (Av: 98.6, 180s: 7, Doubles: 10/24, 100+ Checkouts: 2, High Out: 105)
Rd 5: 10-9 v William O'Connor (Av: 94.9, 180s: 7, Doubles: 10/31, 100+ Checkouts: 0, High Out: 74)
Rd 6: 10-6 v Peter Wright (Av: 99.33, 180s: 4, Doubles: 10/21, 100+ Checkouts: 3, High Out: 148)
QF: 10-9 Jelle Klaasen (Av: 95.3, 180s: 8, Doubles: 10/27, 100+ Checkouts: 1, High Out: 113)

Jonny Clayton

Rd 4: 10-7 Scott Waites (Av: 103.6, 180s: 6, Doubles: 10/26, 100+ Checkouts: 2, High Out: 156)
Rd 5: 10-4 v Joe Cullen (Av: 101.6, 180s: 8, Doubles: 10/24, 100+ Checkouts: 2, High Out: 129)
Rd 6: 10-8 v Chris Dobey (Av: 99.23, 180s: 9, Doubles: 10/23, 100+ Checkouts: 2, High Out: 141)
QF: 10-9 Jamie Hughes (Av: 91.38, 180s: 3, Doubles: 10/23, 100+ Checkouts: 2, High Out: 101)