Darts results: Michael van Gerwen survives five match darts en route to winning German Darts Open title
Michael van Gerwen won his sixth title of the season on Sunday - but he had his fair share of fortune en route to glory at the German Darts Open.
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The world champion collected back-to-back European Tour winners' cheques in the space of six days thanks to a resounding 8-3 victory over Ian White in a final that lacked the astonishing drama witnessed in both afternoon and evening sessions in Saarburcken.
Van Gerwen, who won the German Darts Grand Prix on Easter Monday with a similarly one-sided triumph against Simon Whitlock, averaged 102.42, hit five 180s and almost 50% of his doubles as his opponent ran out of steam at the last hurdle following his own superb run to get there.
The Premier League table-topper's match high checkout of 130 set the tone as it helped him establish the first break of throw for a 3-1 lead and from there he never looked back, collecting the 31st European Tour title in just his 62nd event.
But his three previous matches on an absorbing day at the Saarlandhalle saw him pushed to the wire - firstly by Raymond van Barneveld during the afternoon's third round when the retiring Dutch legend almost snatched an upset win despite averaging 10 points fewer than MVG's mark of 100.
Following his dramatic victory-sealing checkout of 114, van Gerwen returned to the stage for an incredible quarter-final clash with Nathan Aspinall, who missed a match dart in a deciding leg.
The UK Open champion, who had earlier seen off the in-form James Wade 6-2 with an average of 108, had led 5-4 thanks to a sparkling display only for MVG to take out a spectacular 135 checkout to complete a 12-darter.
Aspinall reached a finish first as he sought to make it back-to-back wins over the 30-year-old having defeated him 6-1 in a Players Championship event back in February but he spurned an opportunity at double 16 as MVG punished him by taking out 25 for a 14-darter.
Then it was Dave Chisnall's turn to blow his big chance of ending a 23-match winless run against the Dutchman dating back to 2016, missing four match darts in agonising fashion.
Chizzy, a winner of two ProTour titles this season, had seen off Peter Wright 6-1 with an average of 106 during the afternoon before surviving two match darts in a deciding leg with Mensur Suljovic in the quarter-finals.
This captivating semi-final was the fifth clash to go the distance out of the seven played during an unforgettable evening session but it really should have been over in the 12th leg after Chizzy's 85 checkout on the bullseye had put him one away from victory at 6-5 up.
The St Helens man buckled under the pressure when twice going outside of double 12 after hitting treble 13 from 63, although he'd get another chance when van Gerwen failed to take out 20, leaving five.
Disaster struck for Chisnall as he pinned double nine with the first dart of his next visit before single three let MVG back in and there would be no more chances as the Dutchman won the leg before taking the decider in 12.
Remarkably that was the 23rd last-leg decider that Mighty Mike has won in a row, proving once more how his mental strength appears to have an adverse effect on many of his rivals.
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62 European Tour events entered...
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 28, 2019
31 European Tour events won 😳
Hear from @MvG180 following his latest success at the German Darts Open... pic.twitter.com/DHQsItXCj3
Heartbreak for Chizzy.
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) April 28, 2019
Misses two match darts to end a 23-match winless run v MVG, only to get another chance when MVG fails to finish from 20.
But he hits D9 instead of D12, then single 3, loses the leg, has a bounce out at the start of the decider, which MVG wins in 12 darts!
White was unable to take it that far but Diamond still had a fantastic day as he reached his first European Tour final since winning the Dutch Darts Championship last September.
The 48-year-old, who actually defeated van Gerwen on this very stage in the 2018 German Darts Open, only needed an average of 89 to crush Darren Webster in the third round but upped his game considerably to see off Adrian Lewis in the quarter-final, taking out a 121 checkout for a 12-darter in the deciding leg.
White was underdog against Rob Cross in the semi-finals after the in-form Voltage scraped past fellow Premier League star Gerwyn Price 6-5 but he pulled off an upset by winning 7-5.
Both players averaged 98 but it was White's finishing that proved the difference, pinning seven of his 13 attempts.
Sunday's German Darts Open results
Click here for all the tournament results
Sunday April 28
Afternoon Session
Third Round (Best of 11 legs)
- Gerwyn Price 6-2 Jamie Hughes
- Rob Cross 6-3 Joe Cullen
- Adrian Lewis 6-3 John Henderson
- Ian White 6-2 Darren Webster
- Peter Wright 6-2 Dave Chisnall
- Mensur Suljovic 6-3 Daryl Gurney
- James Wade 2-6 Nathan Aspinall
- Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Raymond van Barneveld
Evening Session
Quarter-Finals (Best of 11 legs)
- Gerwyn Price 5-6 Rob Cross
- Adrian Lewis 5-6 Ian White
- Dave Chisnall 6-5 Mensur Suljovic
- Nathan Aspinall 5-6 Michael van Gerwen
Semi-Finals (Best of 13 legs)
- Rob Cross 5-7 Ian White
- Dave Chisnall 6-7 Michael van Gerwen
Final (Best of 15 legs)
- Ian White 3-8 Michael van Gerwen
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