PDC Masters Darts 2016: Final Scores, Results and Prize Money
Michael van Gerwen beat Dave Chisnall 11-6 in the 2016 Unibet PDC Darts Masters final to defend his title at the ArenaMK on Sunday.
Chisnall beat James Wade 11-6 in the first semi-final, while Van Gerwen narrowly overcame Phil Taylor 11-10 in the second, after they all triumphed in the quarter-finals.
Wade eased to a 10-5 win over Kim Huybrechts, while Chisnall comfortably dispatched Vincent van der Voort—the conqueror of world champion Gary Anderson on Saturday—with a 10-4 win. Peter Wright ran Taylor incredibly close, but The Power edged out the Scot 10-9. Van Gerwen's match with Michael Smith was a much more straightforward affair, with the Dutchman winning 10-3.
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As well as the prestigious title, Van Gerwen will also take home the £60,000 grand prize.
Here are all the results and a closer look at how the day's action played out:
| Robert Thornton | 9-10 | Dave Chisnall |
| James Wade | 10-8 | Terry Jenkins |
| Peter Wright | 10-7 | Ian White |
| Michael Smith | 10-7 | Raymond van Barneveld |
| Adrian Lewis | 4-10 | Kim Huybrechts |
| Phil Taylor | 10-6 | Jelle Klaasen |
| Gary Anderson | 7-10 | Vincent van der Voort |
| Michael van Gerwen | 10-1 | Stephen Bunting |
| Kim Huybrechts | 5-10 | James Wade |
| Vincent van der Voort | 4-10 | Dave Chisnall |
| Phil Taylor | 10-9 | Peter Wright |
| Michael van Gerwen | 10-3 | Michael Smith |
| Semi-Finals | ||
| Dave Chisnall | 11-6 | James Wade |
| Michael van Gerwen | 11-10 | Phil Taylor |
| Final | ||
| Michael van Gerwen | 11-6 | Dave Chisnall |
Evening Session
Chizzy built on his strong quarter-final showing with an even better performance in the semi-final, where he threw an incredible 12 180s—including five in the first five legs—to race into the final.
After sweeping aside Smith in the afternoon session, Van Gerwen had a much tougher time in the semi against an in-form Taylor. The Power held a three-leg lead for much of the contest, but the Dutchman held on thanks to a staggering seven missed match darts from his opponent and ultimately came out on top.
Mighty Mike maintained that strong run into the final, where he got off to an electric start.
He converted double-10 to hold his throw in the opening leg and quickly enjoyed an early break thanks to an impressive maximum and a 64 checkout. An 84 finish saw him hold once more, and as Live Darts and PDC Darts noted, the 26-year-old had racked up a hefty lead by the first interval:
The Englishman finally got on the board in the sixth leg with a double-19 finish, but a 110 checkout moved Van Gerwen past the halfway point.
Van Gerwen took another to extend his lead to six legs, but a missed double allowed Chisnall to snatch one back. He finished strongly heading into the second interval:
The pair exchanged legs after the break, with Chisnall taking out an excellent 90 on the bull, but as PDC Darts noted, his opponent remained untroubled by the slight resurgence in form:
Indeed, a cool double-10 finish gave him a 9-4 lead, and although Chizzy continued to plug away and pulled another back, the Dutchman sunk an 80 finish to move within one of victory.
A sixth leg earned Chisnall a brief stay of execution, but ultimately Van Gerwen won the match in the first five legs and soon saw it out to earn his first PDC premier title of the year.
Per Live Darts, he said: "No one wins a tournament without a bit of luck, I had that and I'm really pleased. It was a difficult day today."
Per PDC Darts, he added:
The Masters win will provide the perfect springboard for the start of the Premier League season on February 4.
Afternoon Session
Wade raced out of the traps against Huybrechts and sealed the first leg with a 104 checkout.
The Englishman took two more successive legs to take a commanding three-leg lead in the tie, and after Huybrechts pulled one back at 3-1, a 180 helped Wade restore the breathing room, per Live Darts:
As Live Darts noted, he didn't even need to be at his best to continue dominating the match:
The profligate Huybrechts did manage to make the scoreline somewhat more respectable as proceedings wore on, but he was too wasteful on the doubles to ever threaten a comeback. PDC.tv reported his success rate of five of 16 checkout attempts equated to only 31 per cent.
Wade accepted it wasn't his best performance:
Chisnall's match with Van der Voort initially looked to be a tight contest, as the pair exchanged legs in the early stages, with the latter heading into the first interval 3-2 up.
The Englishman was utterly dominant afterward, though, as PDC Darts revealed:
Chizzy quickly made that five consecutive legs to take a 7-3 lead into the second interval. A 180 for Van der Voort helped him salvage the 11th leg, but three more on the bounce for his opponent—including a maximum and an 84 checkout on the bull in the final leg—sealed Chisnall's victory.
Wright and Taylor produced an exceptional encounter, with both players producing some moments of magic. The former broke throw to take a 2-0 lead in the match, before the latter recovered in style:
Snakebite equalised at 3-3 before three impressive and ruthless finishes helped Taylor open up a gap on his opponent. Not to be outdone, Wright checked out with an incredible 161 and then added a 115 finish and a double 18 to pull level at 6-6.
The pair traded legs, and Wright found himself leading 9-8, but a missed dart and three 180s in the final two legs helped Taylor take the win. The Englishman reflected on the incredible match, per PDC Darts:
Van Gerwen wasted little time against Smith, roaring to an 8-0 lead in the tie. His opponent seemed helpless in the face of a rampant performance that included two 124 finishes on the bull:
Smith scraped back-to-back legs to avoid a whitewash and added a third shortly after, but he could do little to avoid his fate:
With the Dutchman in such incredible form, he always looked good to defend his title, particularly after overcoming arguably his toughest remaining opposition, Taylor, in the semi-finals.
Van Gerwen won a staggering 18 tournaments in 2015, and on his form at the Masters he looks set to repeat a similar feat in 2016.
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