"Nobody expected him to play this well" - Michael van Gerwen survives scare against Madars Razma at European Championship

Michael van Gerwen narrowly escaped elimination at the European Championship in the opening round. 'Mighty Mike' survived match darts in his match against Madars Razma before edging home 6-5.

"He was absolutely phenomenal. Nobody expected him to play this well," Van Gerwen said post-match. "But I kept my nerve, kept myself cool. It wasn't what I wanted to do."

Still, Van Gerwen was not entirely satisfied. "I had some nice finishing, some nice good scores, especially in the last few legs but still I want to do a little bit more. More important though, I won the game."

The next round will be played first to ten. "it's definitely going to help me of course. In the long run, the better players always come on top. We still have to do it you know, everyone's playing some good darts now so you can't underestimate anyone, you have to be sharp from the beginning."

Van Gerwen will also compete in the last two Players Championships of the year next week having missed the last block. "I'm feeling good so no one has to worry about me," he laughs."