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Magnificent Van Gerwen Clinches Gibraltar Darts Trophy Title

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN claimed his 25th European Tour title and a fifth of the year as he defeated Adrian Lewis 8-3 in the final of the Gibraltar Darts Trophy.
The world number one backed up his Unibet Premier League and Betway World Cup of Darts titles with another triumph, making it four European Tour triumphs in a row to continue his dominance in 2018.
The sixth staging of the tournament at the Victoria Stadium saw runner-up Lewis return to his best, but Van Gerwen was in unstoppable form in the final, averaging 108.13 as he picked up the £25,000 prize.
Van Gerwen hit an incredible tournament average of 104.37 as he saw off close friend Vincent van der Voort in Saturday evening's second round, before breezing past Andy Boulton, Jonny Clayton and Steve West to reach the final.
"For me to win a game like this gives me even more confidence, I'm really happy with my performance," said Van Gerwen, who has lost just one game on the European Tour this year.
"I think I played a phenomenal game in the final and I think I have earned my holiday, I want to relax now and re-charge my batteries for the events coming up.
"The crowd deserved a good performance from me and I am happy that I was able to play well all weekend.
"I had to play well in the final because I know what Adrian is capable of - he is always dangerous and is one of the best players in the world, and it's good to see him doing well again."
Lewis' impressive run to the final confirmed his re-emergence as one of the world's best players and was his best run in a European Tour event since his victory at the 2012 German Darts Masters.
The two-time World Champion whitewashed Gibraltar's Clayton Otton in Friday evening's first round, before seeing off Mensur Suljovic 6-3 to progress to the final day of action.
Lewis then hit an impressive 105.97 average as he edged past James Wade 6-5 into the quarter-finals where he beat Peter Wright 6-3, and then defeated Paul Nicholson in a 7-6 thriller to reach his third ranking final of the year.
"Obviously, I'm disappointed not to win but I think I performed well over the weekend," said Lewis.
"Fair play to Michael he gained confidence from me missing shots and that's why he's the world number one."
The Gibraltar event was also a significant one for Nicholson, who won through to his first PDC ranking semi-final in five years thanks to impressive wins over Antony Lopez, Dave Chisnall, Joe Cullen and Gerwyn Price.
- Written by Josh Phillips (PDC)

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