Michael van Gerwen writes darts history with seventh Premier League title: ‘This means a lot to me’ | Darts

He has been announcing it for weeks: it is about that play-off evening at the O2 Arena in London. That’s where the prizes will be distributed. After the ninth Premier League week (of a total of sixteen weeks), Michael van Gerwen did not reach any finals, while Gerwyn Price only failed to reach the final once after week nine and Michael Smith even won three of the last four Premier League evenings. But tonight Van Gerwen showed again who is boss.

“I keep saying it, this is the most important tournament to win after the World Cup,” said Van Gerwen after winning the final at via play. “We all know that I didn’t start as favourite, but that I still showed that I was the absolute best, that was very satisfying,” said Van Gerwen, who saw both Smith and Price in top form in recent weeks. “I think I’ve played two fantastic games against guys who were really in shape. They’ve been able to win Premier League nights for the last few weeks, so this means a lot to me. I’ve been away from home for 17 weeks for this Premier League .”

In the semi-final, reigning world champion Smith had to believe it 10-8. Only towards the end of the game, when the English public started to get involved, did Van Gerwen get a little upset, but in the end Smith did not strike against the Dutchman, who therefore faced Price in the Premier League final. The Welshman was much too strong for compatriot Jonny Clayton in the semi-finals with a score of 10-2.

In the final, Van Gerwen showed his muscles. The first five legs all went with the arrows, making Mighty Mike led 3-2. At that moment the Dutchman dealt a first mental blow by throwing out 170, the maximum finish.

With a score of 5-2 for Van Gerwen, there was another hard tap on the chin for Price. The Welshman had to watch as Van Gerwen threw out 128 and thus took a lead of two breaks: 7-2. With an average of 105.43, the best Dutch darts player was a size too big for Price, who had finished first in the regular Premier League weeks after sixteen weeks. “It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” said Van Gerwen weeks ago and he was right.

The break in the match was celebrated with a 7-3 score, after which Van Gerwen struggled to return to the podium and was immediately broken back, but the victory was no longer in danger for Mighty Mike. Price couldn’t make another fist. Van Gerwen knew The Iceman to break right back and then hit another 150 finish. With that, nothing stood in the way of a seventh Premier League title. Michael van Gerwen is now single record holder in the Premier League and 275 thousand pounds richer.

“It was going to happen once, it’s nice that it’s already tonight”, said Van Gerwen about the record that he had to share with Phil Taylor until tonight. “I’m a proud man. You have to know what losing is before you great champion”, he referred to the lost World Cup final last January and the lost UK Open final earlier this year. As a result, this Premier League title is his first major title of the year. And what kind. A historical one.