The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsMichael Smith has successfully defended his European Darts Trophy title, seeing off Michael van Gerwen in the final 6-2. ‘Bully Boy’ scoops the top prize of £25,000 with the win, his second European Tour victory of 2015.
The final day’s action began with an MvG whitewash. The Dutchman wasn’t at his best, averaging just 92, but still managed to dump Jason Lovett out the competition with a 6-0 victory.
Dave Chisnall found himself 2-0 down against Justin Pipe in the following match and produced a flawless run of six consecutive legs that won him the match 6-2. ‘Chizzy’ averaged 101 in the victory, and set up a last eight tie with Michael van Gerwen.
Peter Wright snuck a last-leg win in his match against Kim Huybrechts in a stunning game of darts. ‘Snakebite’ won three on the bounce including two breaks of throw in the final three legs to progress, despite Huybrechts’ impressive average of 103.
Adrian Lewis missed two match darts as Terry Jenkins stepped in to dispatch of the number four seed in the last-leg decider. The World Number five averaged a solid 99, but missed doubles cost him as Jenkins set up a quarter-final tie with Peter Wright.
Eventual Champion Michael Smith won four consecutive legs to knock Kevin Painter out of the competition in the fifth match of the afternoon. Finishes included a 128 from ‘Bully Boy’ as he advanced to the last eight.
Mervyn King saw three match darts squandered by Spaniard Cristo Reyes in a last-leg decider before stepping in to win the match 6-5, despite missing three at D18 to win the match 6-4. A solid 96 average saw ‘The King’ through to the evening session.
Ian White continued his good run of form with a 6-3 win over young Austrian Rowby-John Rodriguez. ‘The Diamond’ hit five maximums on his way to secure a last eight spot.
James Wade rounded off the afternoon session with a 6-4 win over Robert Thornton. ‘The Machine’ overcame his poor record against ‘The Thorn’ to average 99.6 and book his ticket into the next round where he would face Ian White.
Michael van Gerwen marched on into the semi-finals with minimal fuss when he came up against a below-par Dave Chisnall, who he dispatched of in double quick time. The Dutchman secured another 6-0 victory despite averaging only 93.
Peter Wright came through yet another last-leg decider, this time against Terry Jenkins. ‘Snakebite’ lost an early 2-0 lead, but produced when it really mattered to book his semi-final spot, but he did see a Jenkins bounce-out on the bull for the match.
Mervyn King never really got going as Michael Smith run riot in a 6-2 win, where are one point eh was averaging 107. ‘Bully Boy’ ended up with an average of 100.5 and 55% on the doubles as he secured a spot in the last four.
James Wade missed a couple of crucial doubles in his quarter-final match as he was knocked out of the competition by Ian White, who won the match 6-4 to set up a semi-final tie with Michael Smith.
Peter Wright changed his darts in the gap between the quarter-finals and the semi-finals, and it proved to be a rather ineffective switch as van Gerwen raced into a 4-0 lead and then closing out the match 6-2 with an impressive 106 average.
Michael Smith ensured it would be a repeat of last year’s final in this year’s competition as he saw off Ian White 6-4. The St. Helens ace landed 55% of his doubles and averaged 98 on his way to a place in the final.
Despite Michael van Gerwen averaging 101, he missed key doubles as Michael Smith got the better of the World Number One once again in the European Darts Trophy. Smith held his nerve after a fast start to take the match with a convincing scoreline of 6-2.
Results On Finals Day:
Third Round
Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-0 Jason Lovett
Dave Chisnall (9) 6-2 Justin Pipe (9)
Peter Wright (5) 6-5 Kim Huybrechts (12)
Adrian Lewis (4) 5-6 Terry Jenkins (13)
Michael Smith (2) 6-4 Kevin Painter
Cristo Reyes 5-6 Mervyn King (10)
Ian White (6) 6-3 Rowby-John Rodriguez
James Wade (3) 6-4 Robert Thornton (14)
Quarter-Finals
Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-0 Dave Chisnall (9)
Peter Wright (5) 6-5 Terry Jenkins (13)
Michael Smith (2) 6-2 Mervyn King (10)
Ian White (6) 6-4 James Wade (3)
Semi-Finals
Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-2 Peter Wright (5)
Michael Smith (2) 6-3 Ian White (6)
Final
Michael Smith (2) 6-2 Michael van Gerwen (1)
