"My love for the game is still there" - Michael van Gerwen regains winning feeling with first Euro Tour title in 16 months

Michael van Gerwen has won the Hungarian Darts Trophy. 'Mighty Mike' was 8-7 too strong for his compatriot Gian van Veen in the final in Budapest. It's the first time in sixteen months the Dutchman has triumphed on the European Tour.

For Van Gerwen, who also came out on top at Players Championship 21 earlier in the week, it is his first tournament victory on the European Tour since the Belgian Darts Open last year. But this weekend he finally won again. In the final, Van Gerwen survived a matchdart from Van Veen to eventually take the 37th tournament victory of his career on the European Tour.

"This was really important - I had to battle really hard," admitted Van Gerwen in his post-match interview afterwards. "I was struggling in the final and Gian took advantage, but I was more battling with myself. The crowd gave me so much energy and to give them something back, I'm over the moon."

Van Gerwen seems poised for a strong autumn. "I think I'm on the right way, especially with my new darts. I missed the winning feeling for a long time but now everything falls into place," he adds. "I want to win more and my love for the game is still there. I need to make sure I keep this momentum going."

"Starting next Tuesday and Wednesday at Players Championships 22 and 23," Van Gerwen continued. "I want to keep this form and win another title. Whether it's small or big tournaments, I start every tournament with the intention of winning it too."