Michael van Gerwen won the Premier League for the sixth time in his career in Berlin on Monday. In the thrilling final of the play-offs, ‘Mighty Mike’ was too strong for debutant Joe Cullen with 11-10.
Van Gerwen and Cullen made it a blood-curdling fight in the Mercedes-Benz Arena and were very close to each other. Van Gerwen took a big lead twice (3-1 and 5-3), but saw Cullen also come back twice.
The two finalists then gave nothing away and alternated leg after leg. At a score of 9-9, Van Gerwen Cullen broke and took a 10-9 lead. Van Gerwen did not manage to finish the game after which a decisive leg had to offer a solution.
In that decisive leg, Van Gerwen survived a match dart before hitting double-16 himself and taking his first major title in a year and a half.
The last time Van Gerwen won the Premier League was in 2019 when he was too strong for Rob Cross in the final. Van Gerwen was also the best in 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2018.