Michael van Gerwen was dumped out at the World Grand Prix last week from a brilliant display from Danny Noppert but this time around at the European Championship, he wasn't wasting now time in making a statement.
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Van Gerwen was taking on Boris Krcmar, the impressive Croatian who many expected to give the Green Machine a scare but it was a 6-2 success with a 100.5 average and a high checkout of 128 with some flashes of the old MVG.
He kicked off with a 180 and an 11-dart break to stamp his authority early on before taking out 128 to double his lead.
At the interval, he was 4-1 up with Krcmar only getting a hold of throw and with a mountain to climb and a lot more when MVG went 5-1 up.
He held throw to make it 5-2 but Van Gerwen sealed the deal from there to move through.
While for Ryan Searle, he foreshadowed the brilliance of Mighty Mike with a brilliant display of his own.
'Heavy Metal' who has been excellent form this year has emerged as a force not only on the ProTour but on TV and showed that against Michael Smith.
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A resilient battle back from 3-0 down saw Searle edge through in a high quality contest 6-5 with both players averaging 102.
Racing into that lead, it was a 121 checkout on the bull which saw Searle break the brilliance of Smith to restore parity at 4-4. He suddenly went one away with a 60 checkout to make it 5-4 but a 13-darter saw a tie befitting of a decider.
But Searle pinned double 20 with Smith's 180 to pressure not enough to stop him reaching the finishing line.
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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𝗠𝘃𝗚 𝗢𝗡 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗘!
A comfortable victory for Michael van Gerwen there who averages over 100 in a dominant 6-2 victory over Boris Krcmar!
𝙐𝙥 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 👉 Gerwyn Price v Ritchie Edhouse