Michael Van Gerwen seals hat-trick of European Championship titles
Tuesday 1 November 2016 07:55, UK
World No 1 Michael van Gerwen routed Mensur Suljovic 11-1 to win his third successive Unibet European Championship title.
Van Gerwen has been in red-hot form in recent months and added to his ranking victories in the UK Open, World Matchplay and World Grand Prix in scintillating fashion in the Belgian town of Hasselt.
The Dutchman, who had beaten Jelle Klaasen 10-3 and James Wade 11-7 to reach the final, averaged an amazing 111.62 to beat second seed Suljovic, himself having a superb end to the year.
Suljovic won his first PDC European Tour event at September's International Open in Germany, and the Austrian had two more impressive victories in making it into the final.
He thrashed Phil Taylor 10-3 at the quarter-final stage and then overcame Peter Wright 11-8 in a tougher semi-final, sealing his victory with a 118 checkout.
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But Suljovic's first major televised final was one to forget as Van Gerwen reeled off nine successive legs after being pegged back to 2-1 after early fireworks.
He broke Suljovic twice with sublime 12-dart finishes and then took out a 157 checkout to lead 7-1.
Suljovic missed a couple of chances to close the gap but even winning those legs would have been unlikely to stop Van Gerwen, who was steady on his doubles in the closing stages in winning the £100,000 first prize.
