Michael van Gerwen wins World Series of Darts Finals on a historic evening with a nine-darter in Amsterdam | Sport

He underwent dental surgery, has been wearing braces ever since and had a little more rest in the summer months than in previous years, but Michael van Gerwen showed again this weekend in Amsterdam what he can do with his darts. Aspinall, the man who treated Van Gerwen to a major disappointment at the Premier League evening in Ahoy earlier this year by beating the Dutchman in the first round, had to acknowledge his superiority in the final of the World Series of Darts Finals. home favorite.

Aspinall, who had to go deep in the semi-final to beat Peter Wright (11-9), seemed to have used up all his powder before the final. The 32 year old Englishman, who sent an angry Danny Noppert home in the second round on Saturday, did not get further than an average of 85 in the final battle, so Van Gerwen did not even have to be at his best to win the World Series of Darts Finals for the fifth time, and for the first time since 2019. The relaxed final was also noticeable in the audience, but the exuberance among the Dutch darts fans erupted in full force when Van Gerwen stood with the trophy in his hands.

It is Van Gerwen’s fourth tournament that he has won this year. Earlier this year he won the Premier League for the seventh time, after which he also won the US Darts Masters and the Poland Darts Masters. Prior to this tournament, he indicated that he was curious about his form, but it appears to be perfectly fine, as Aspinall also saw: “I don’t know how he does it. Michael’s will to win is exceptional. In my era he is the best anyway and I am happy to play against someone like him. He deserves it.”

Van Gerwen saw how much was going on in advance about his dental problems, but after this weekend he can look ahead to his big goal: to become number one in the world. “Of course it’s a lot about that jaw, but it gives a lot of satisfaction to win here. I did the right things,” said a proud Van Gerwen.

In retrospect, Van Gerwen’s semi-final against Humphries was more final-worthy than the actual final battle against The Asp, who recently won his first major tournament since the UK Open in 2019 with the World Matchplay. In that semi-final wrote Mighty Mike history by hitting a nine-darter, the first ever at the tournament. Part of the audience at the AFAS Live in Amsterdam logically went crazy with joy, but not the entire audience went completely crazy. The scoreboard in the hall was malfunctioning, so not everyone noticed the feat.

It was the first nine-darter on television since Van Gerwen received one from Michael Smith during last year’s World Cup final. For the Dutchman himself, it was his ninth ever appearance in a televised tournament.

After that nine-darter, the match against Humphries was evenly matched and it was close to Van Gerwen even missing out on the final. The 28-year-old Englishman missed three match darts with a 10-9 lead. As a result, he enabled Van Gerwen to make it 10-10 and the Dutchman did just that. In the decisive 21st leg, Van Gerwen brought himself and the Dutch fans in the hall into ecstasy. He threw out 97 via triple 19, a single 20 and double 10 and that caused a huge outburst of joy. Mighty Mike.

Earlier in the day, Raymond van Barneveld was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Peter Wright. Barney led 6-3, but then lost seven legs in a row and ended up with a 10-6 defeat against the Scot. Van Barneveld therefore left with a hangover for his wedding next Tuesday in Cyprus. ,,To fail. That’s the feeling I have right now. No, I don’t want to think about that marriage right now. This will take me a day. When you wave goodbye to your children and grandchildren this morning and they shout ‘Come on, Dad! Come on, Grandpa!’ Well… the whole world is already in Cyprus for my wedding and I’m not,” said the very disappointed Van Barneveld.