Van Gerwen wasn't at his best averaging 90, but didn't need to be as he produced at the right moments to move through to face Joe Cullen on the final day in Hildesheim.
Van Gerwen started the match poorly with Lennon making it 1-1 with an 12-darter. However, both men managed to break each other twice from there with Van Gerwen emerging as the player to surge towards the fashion.
In the seventh leg, he managed to break again with a 14-darter to make it 5-3 and he also managed to take it in the ninth leg to seal the win.
While there was utter vintage James Wade at his machine like best. He saw off Nathan Aspinall who averaged 102, but lost out as Wade does best with an inferior average of 98.
It was a 46.2% on the outer ring for Wade, with Aspinall being the other end with a 26.7% finishing percentage despite hitting five 180's so being superior on scoring despite defeat.
Ricardo Pietreczko also delighted the home crowd with another big win for them to celebrate. After Gabriel Clemens earlier who took down Dave Chisnall, it was an incredible 107 average from 'Pikachu'.
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Pietreczko hit four 180's, a high checkout of 103 and 42.9% on doubles in an epic win for the rising German against another home hero, Martin Schindler.
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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VICTORY FOR VAN GERWEN! 🇳🇱
It wasn't vintage Michael van Gerwen, but the reigning German Darts Champion wins the last four legs without reply to open his title defence with a 6-3 victory against Steve Lennon!
🔜 Peter Wright v Chris Dobey
👉 bit.ly/PDCTVLive#ET13 R2