Michael van Gerwen 8 – 6 Gian van Veen (best of 15 legs)
Michael van Gerwen delivered a statement of intent as he continues the push to recapture his dominant best form, holding off a late surge from Gian van Veen to claim the Bahrain Darts Masters title.
‘Mighty Mike’ as van Gerwen is known, raced into a 3-0 lead with some fabulous finishing, and took his lead to 6-2 before his fellow Dutchman van Geen pulled three legs back in a row to increase the pressure on the three time former world champion.
But van Gerwen kept his composure to hold his throw, finishing with a superb triple 10, double 18 to secure his 17th World Series regional title. He has also won the World Series Finals on six occasions.
Littler pays the Price in quarters as van Gerwen fires
It goes without saying that Luke Littler enters any tournament as the favourite, but after his exceptional last-16 win over Paul Lim, few expected Gerwyn Price to be able to cope with ‘The Nuke.’
But the Welshman was in fine form, with both scoring and finishing, while Littler missed key chances that allowed Price to break throw twice, the latter sealed with a bullseye finish, before he wrapped up a 6–2 victory with double 10.
Luke Humphries also exited at the quarter-final stage, losing 6–3 to Nathan Aspinall as both top seeds fell in the last eight.
The master teaches the impressive apprentice a lesson
With his run to this year’s World Championship final, van Veen had usurped van Gerwen as the Netherlands’ leading darts player, giving the final an added edge with authority at stake.
And although van Veen showed the fighting spirit that has propelled him into the leading pack in darts, van Gerwen remained in control, displaying a level of resolve that has at times been lacking in the highest-pressure moments.
If ‘Mighty Mike’ can maintain this standard throughout the season, there is every chance he can give Luke Littler reason to look over his shoulder more often than he has become accustomed to.
Match Results
Quarter-finals (best of 11 legs)
- Luke Littler 2-6 Gerwyn Price
- Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Stephen Bunting
- Luke Humphies 3-6 Nathan Aspinall
- Gian van Veen 6-1 Danny Noppert
Semi-finals (best of 13 legs)
- Gerwyn Price 2-7 Michael van Gerwen
- Nathan Aspinall 4-7 Gian van Veen
Final (best of 15 legs)
Michael van Gerwen 8-6 Gian van Veen
