Nine-dart Michael van Gerwen claims fantastic fifth World Series Finals title
Michael van Gerwen clinched a fifth World Series Finals title with an 11-4 rout of Nathan Aspinall in the final in Amsterdam on Sunday.
Van Gerwen raised the roof at AFAS Live with a sensational nine-darter in the Semi-Finals against Luke Humphries, and capped off a memorable night on home soil by claiming the £75,000 top prize with a dominant win over Aspinall.
The three-time World Champion secured his fourth televised title of the year to maintain his remarkable record at this event, making it five wins from nine stagings of the World Series Finals.
Van Gerwen, whose previous triumphs came in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019, also celebrated his Quarter-Final win over Dimitri Van den Bergh on Sunday afternoon on stage with children Zoe and Michael.
“The most important thing for me is to win another title on stage,” said Van Gerwen, who won World Series events in New York and Poland earlier this year.
“You always want to perform well, and to do it in front of your home crowd, it gives you such a good feeling.
“I think the biggest challenge for me was the pressure of playing in front of the home crowd, but they have been absolutely fantastic this weekend.
“Even Luke Humphries after our semi-final said that the crowd were phenomenal, and you can only be proud of that.”
Van Gerwen weathered an early storm in his Last Eight clash against Van den Bergh on Sunday afternoon, recovering from 5-3 down to prevail 10-8 with a 103 average and nine maximums.
He then came through an extraordinary contest against Humphries, which saw the Dutchman land the first nine-darter in the history of the World Series Finals.
The 34-year-old produced the moment of magic in leg two, and after surviving three match darts in the penultimate leg, sealed the deal with a magnificent 12-dart break in the decider.
In the final, Aspinall capitalised on an early reprieve to stay in touch at the first interval, landing a brilliant double-double 86 finish after Van Gerwen missed two darts at tops for a 4-1 lead.
However, Van Gerwen made amends by winning four of the next five legs to stretch his advantage to 7-3, firing in a brace of 14-darters and a spectacular 160 checkout to underline his dominance.
The procession continued as Van Gerwen extended his winning run to five straight legs, and despite Aspinall stopping the rot in leg 14, the home hero wrapped up victory with a 63 finish.
World Matchplay champion Aspinall, meanwhile, won through hard-fought encounters against Keegan Brown and Peter Wright to reach a third televised final in as many months, only to be blown away by a relentless Van Gerwen.
The Stockport star defied a sluggish start to see off Brown, averaging 107 in a terrific five-leg burst midway through the match, before wrapping up a 10-5 victory with a 97 average and four maximums.
Aspinall then fended off a spirited fightback from two-time finalist Wright to close out a dramatic 11-9 success, defying 120, 141 and 167 finishes from the Scot to prevail in an edgy finale.
“I just said to Michael, I don’t know how he does it,” admitted Aspinall. “Full credit to Michael. This guy has so much energy, and his will to win is exceptional.
“I’m very happy to participate in another final with Michael. In my era he’s the best, and it’s an honour to share the stage with him.
“Even though I’ve lost, I’m so glad he’s won in front of his home crowd, because he deserves it.”
Earlier in the day, Wright fought back from 6-3 down to overcome Raymond van Barneveld in the Last Eight, reeling off seven consecutive legs to deny the Dutch legend a fairy-tale triumph on home soil.
World Series of Darts Finals 2023 Day Three Results
Sunday September 17
Afternoon Session
Quarter-Finals
Rob Cross 2-10 Luke Humphries
Michael van Gerwen 10-8 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Keegan Brown 5-10 Nathan Aspinall
Raymond van Barneveld 6-10 Peter Wright
Evening Session
Semi-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 11-10 Luke Humphries – *Van Gerwen hits a nine-darter*
Nathan Aspinall 11-9 Peter Wright
Final
Michael van Gerwen 11-4 Nathan Aspinall
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