Michael van Gerwen produced a scintillating display to beat James Wade in the European Darts Trophy final and collect his 18th individual title of the season.
The rampant world number one, who got back to winning ways in the major tournaments last weekend by defeating Peter Wright in the World Grand Prix final, averaged 111.27 in an 8-3 thumping of the Machine and finished the job in style at the Lokhalle with a 170 checkout.
In a repeat of this year's European Darts Grand Prix final in Sindelfingen, which MVG also won 8-3, the Dutchman nailed two more 100+ checkouts, hit eight of his 13 attempts at doubles and also fired in five 180s to give Wade no chance of causing a shock.
A fitting way to win it...
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) October 15, 2018
Michael van Gerwen landed his eighth European Tour title of 2018 with the biggest fish of all... a 170 checkout.
🎯🎣 pic.twitter.com/XNqa2Y6tKM
Van Gerwen, who has now won eight European Tour crowns in 2018, averaged over 100 in all of his five matches across the weekend in Gottingen, starting with a 102 in a commanding 6-2 triumph over Vincent van der Voort on Saturday night.
His five 180s helped contribute to a fine 106.46 in a hard-fought 6-4 victory over Stephen Bunting in his third-round match on Sunday afternoon before kicking-off the evening session with a 106.53 against Daryl Gurney.
In that 6-2 quarter-final triumph, MVG nailed six of his seven attempts at doubles and also took out three 100+ checkouts, including a stunning 161, as he defied Gurney's average of 107.11, six 180s and 100% checkout percentage!
The Dutchman maintained his momentum by thrashing Premier League runner-up Michael Smith 7-2 with the help of a 102 average and a 58% checkout percentage as he reached the 33rd European Tour final of his incredible career.
Victory over Wade takes his overall tournament tally in 2018 to 19 if you include the World Cup he won for the Netherlands with Raymond van Barneveld, while he now has 28 career European Tour titles to his name.
"I think I played a phenomenal tournament, you can only dream about a performance like this," Van Gerwen told www.pdc.tv. "Now I can look back on a good European Tour season for me, but I have to keep my concentration for the important tournaments coming up.
"I never get bored of winning, I want to keep going until I get to 50 European Tour titles at least!"
Wade was appearing in his fourth PDC final of the season and his second on the European Tour although defeat at the final hurdle once again means he's still searching for his first title since the 2016 European Matchplay.
The Englishman overcame Toni Alcinas 6-4 on Saturday night before recording 6-3 victories over Darren Webster and world champion Rob Cross while another impressive performance helped him see off Richard North 7-4 in the semi-finals.
"I go into every tournament expecting to do well, so I'm not surprised I made the final," said Wade. "I can't believe I played so poorly in the final but sometimes that happens, I'm sure I will be able to take the positives from this weekend over the next few days."
Elsewhere, Dave Chisnall produced the performance of the weekend from a statistical point of view as he averaged 112.7 in a thumping 6-0 third-round victory over John Henderson as he continued to show signs that he's getting back to his very best.
Chizzy's run was ended in a 'St Helens derby' against Michael Smith, who triumphed 6-2 with an impressive average of 102.78 to almost match the 103.66 he managed in a 6-0 whitewash of Steve Beaton in the previous round.
Bully Boy's run was ended in the last four by MVG as the world number one booked his place in a 33rd European Tour final.
European Darts Trophy: Results
Friday October 12
First Round (Best of 11 legs)
- Luke Humphries 6-4 Keegan Brown
- Matthew Edgar 6-3 Jeffrey de Graaf
- Mickey Mansell 6-2 George Killington
- John Henderson 6-5 Mark Wilson
- Gabriel Clemens 6-3 Brendan Dolan
- Marko Kantele 6-3 Robert Marijanovic
- Ryan Joyce 6-1 Jermaine Wattimena
- Krzysztof Ratajski 6-5 Steve West
- Richard North 6-3 Christian Buns
- Ricky Evans 6-1 Andrew Gilding
- Martin Schindler 6-3 Luke Woodhouse
- Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Simon Stevenson
- Jelle Klaasen 6-4 Maik Langendorf
- Steve Beaton 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
- Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-3 Steffen Siepmann
- Toni Alcinas 6-5 Danny Noppert
Saturday October 13
Second Round (Best of 11 legs)
- Matthew Edgar 6-5 Joe Cullen
- Michael Smith 6-1 Marko Kantele
- Dave Chisnall 6-5 Ryan Joyce
- Stephen Bunting 6-2 Mickey Mansell
- Daryl Gurney 6-3 Luke Humphries
- Richard North 6-4 Simon Whitlock
- John Henderson 6-4 Ian White
- Jonny Clayton 6-2 Gabriel Clemens
- Martin Schindler 6-0 Mervyn King
- Steve Beaton 6-5 Gerwyn Price
- Darren Webster 6-3 Ricky Evans
- Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Vincent van der Voort
- Jelle Klaasen 6-3 Peter Wright
- James Wade 6-4 Toni Alcinas
- Max Hopp 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski
- Rob Cross 6-4 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Sunday October 14
Third Round (Best of 11 legs)
- Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Stephen Bunting
- Daryl Gurney 6-3 Matthew Edgar
- Michael Smith 6-0 Steve Beaton
- Dave Chisnall 6-0 John Henderson
- Jelle Klaasen 6-5 Martin Schindler
- Richard North 6-1 Jonny Clayton
- James Wade 6-3 Darren Webster
- Rob Cross 6-5 Max Hopp
Quarter-Finals (Best of 11 legs)
- Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Daryl Gurney
- Michael Smith 6-2 Dave Chisnall
- Richard North 6-3 Jelle Klaasen
- James Wade 6-3 Rob Cross
Semi-Finals (Best of 13 legs)
- Michael van Gerwen 7-2 Michael Smith
- James Wade 7-4 Richard North
Final (Best of 15 legs)
- Michael van Gerwen 8-3 James Wade