Unibet European Championship Darts 2015: Final Scores, Results and Prize Money
Michael van Gerwen completed a fantastic comeback on Sunday to beat Gary Anderson in a decider in the final of the Unibet European Championship Darts 2015, defending his title in the process. The two served up one of the best matches of darts you'll see all year, with the Order of Merit leader eventually winning the final and deciding leg.
Both had qualified for the final with relative ease, beating Peter Wright and Adrian Lewis during the first two matches of Sunday's evening session. As reported by Darts Database, Mighty Mike will go home with a cool £65.000, while Anderson will have to settle for £35.000. Wright and Lewis will both receive £17.000.
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Van Gerwen and Anderson cruised into the semi-finals during the afternoon session, respectively beating Dave Chisnall and Jelle Klaasen in one-sided quarter-final matchups. Wright had it just as easy against John Henderson, while Lewis recorded the only upset of the afternoon session, beating four-time winner Phil Taylor 10-9.
Here are the full results:
| Afternoon Session | ||
| John Henderson | 4-10 | Peter Wright |
| Michael van Gerwen | 10-4 | Dave Chisnall |
| Gary Anderson | 10-6 | Jelle Klaasen |
| Phil Taylor | 9-10 | Adrian Lewis |
| Evening Session | ||
| Michael van Gerwen | 11-7 | Peter Wright |
| Gary Anderson | 11-5 | Adrian Lewis |
| Michael van Gerwen | 11-10 | Gary Anderson |
Recap
While Sunday's evening session started with two one-sided semi-finals, which saw Van Gerwen and Anderson comfortably dispose of Wright and Lewis, the crowd in Belgium couldn't have asked for a better final.
Just a couple of legs in, the PDC's Matthew Porter made this observation, and he wasn't wrong:
The Flying Scotsman came into the final after an 11-5 win over Lewis, while Mighty Mike won the first five legs of his match against Snakebite, easing to an 11-7 win.
Things were a lot closer in the final, however. The two traded shots during the first eight legs, with neither player managing to build a lead beyond a single leg. Along the way, Van Gerwen came within inches of a nine-darter, prompting this reaction from Unibet:
Mighty Mike remains the most feared darts player in the world today, but Anderson isn't far behind, and the Scotsman has had Van Gerwen's number recently. The world champion opened up a three-leg lead with back-to*back 180s, and he maintained his lead until he came within a single leg of the title.
Down 10-7, Van Gerwen shifted gear. Finishes of 72 and 68 and a superb conversion of double 16 forced a decider, with Anderson never in position to clinch the title, and in that decider, Mighty Mike kept his composure and put Anderson away after the latter failed to take out 134.
PDC Darts couldn't believe it:
Both men finished with averages well into the triple digits, and while Van Gerwen was obviously a massive winner on Sunday, he biggest winner was undoubtedly the Belgian crowd, who witnessed the kind of final the PDC can only dream of.
The World Series of Darts and Player's Championship are right around the corner, and both Mighty Mike and the Flying Scotsman seem to be in sensational form as the World Championship draws ever closer.
Both will be expected to contend for the title, and judging by Sunday's final, fans can only hope they'll meet in London.
Afternoon Session
Van Gerwen was spectacular in his 10-4 win over Chisnall, grabbing the lead in the third leg and never looking back on his way to the semi-finals. The defending champion finished with an average of 106.55 and hit well over 50 per cent on his doubles, grabbing control early and never letting up.
Chizzy gave the Dutchman full credit for the win:
Mighty Mike looked almost conservative on the checkout on Saturday, but on Sunday, he was back to his old, aggressive self. A high finish of 132 was well above Chisnall's highest checkout, 82, and while Van Gerwen still looks like he can do much better―seven 180s in 14 legs―he has to be considered the favourite to win another European title.
Mighty Mike will meet Wright in the semi-final after Snakebite took care of John Henderson without breaking a sweat, winning 10-4. Henderson was the least experienced competitor still alive entering the quarter-finals, and it showed, as he lost the plot in Leg 5 and never had the chance to recover.
In the sixth leg, he missed three darts at tops to all but gift Wright the leg, and after an 11-darter in the next, the match was all but over. Henderson finished with a dismal checkout percentage of 18 percent and an average nearly 14 points lower than his rival.
Snakebite's checkout percentage wasn't particularly great, sitting at 40 percent, and heading into a semi-final clash with Van Gerwen, he'll have to do better. Per Live Darts, Mighty Mike likes his chances:
Lewis nearly gave away a big lead against veteran star Taylor but came through in a decider, eliminating the four-time champion and setting up a semi-final meeting with Anderson.
Jackpot was in full control of the match and seemed to be on his way to a routine win when he took an 8-5 lead, but the Power once again showed why he's considered to be one of the sport's all-time greats, forcing a decider after a great comeback.
TV presenter Jacqui Oatley was enjoying it:
Lewis built his lead with solid work on the doubles despite Taylor's clear advantage in scoring, and he kept his nerve in the decider, winning a thriller to advance to the next round.
Klaasen gave Anderson a tough challenge, but a superior performance on the doubles saw the Flying Scotsman pull out a 10-6 win to progress into the semi-finals. Klaasen ran out to a quick 3-1 lead but started to struggle on the checkout, allowing Anderson to take six of the next seven legs.
The Dutchman bounced back by taking out double 18 twice, both times after crucial misses from Anderson, but he had no answer for the reigning world champion's scoring and often had to stand and watch as Anderson checked out with relative ease.
Klaasen finished with an average of just under 95 and 38 per cent on the doubles, solid numbers that won't hold up against the world's best.
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