Mighty Mike - Outstanding performance at Day 2 Crawley

[ChrisW]

Lost only 1 leg in the Semi and final againxt Whitlock and Chissy.
A 9 darter and a 170 in the final.
Will 2012 be the year for Michael van Gerwen?

[Dannyboy]

Bradders doesn't like this!

[Ginge]

Meh. Didn't he win 2 in the same weekend in 2008 and then do nothing for the following 4 years?

I'll wait until he gets to a televised semi/final before passing judgement.

[Connie]

I hope so.
He is one of my favorite players.

[ChrisW]

Report from PDC

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN hit a nine-dart finish and a 170 checkout in defeating Dave Chisnall 6-1 in the final of Sunday's second Speedy Hire UK Open Qualifier in Crawley.

The Dutch youngster claimed his first full PDC ProTour victory since 2009 with the triumph, with the £6,000 prize money sealing his place in June's UK Open televised finals and putting him in a strong position to reach July's World Matchplay.

However, the manner in which van Gerwen took the win showed flashes of the brilliance which brought him to prominence as a teenager back in 2006.

The 22-year-old had defeated Bristol's Steve Brown and recent Tour Card winners Stuart Kellett and Richie Howson before hitting top gear in his Last 16 contest with Jamie Caven, winning 6-2 and taking the final four legs in 11, 12, 11 and 15 darts.

He then powered past World Championship finalist Andy Hamilton 6-2 in the quarter-finals and whitewashed Simon Whitlock 6-0 in the semis, before claiming the title in style.

After taking the opening leg of the final in 13 darts, he broke Chisnall's throw on tops before the St Helens man took out 85 on the bull to win the third.

Van Gerwen's reply was senational, as he hit 180 and 177 before finishing 144 on double 12 for a nine-dart finish - his first since the 2006 Masters of Darts in Holland - to lead 3-1.

Chisnall missed double eight for a 123 finish in the next, with van Gerwen posting double four to move 4-1 up and then brilliantly taking out 170 for a 12-darter, after Chisnall missed the bull for a 121 checkout.

The youngster then sealed a brilliant win on double six, finishing the final with an average of 108.03.

"It's very special for me," said van Gerwen, who has shown newfound confidence since winning four PDC Unicorn Youth Tour events in 2011.

"To win a tournament with a nine-darter and a 170 finish is great. I know I can play like this but you have to do it when it counts in tournaments, and I'm very proud that I did today.

"In the last four games I played very well against four players who are all in the top 32 and brilliant players, so if you do that then you can win anything.

"I played well in the Grand Slam of Darts and World Championship at the end of last year, and the Youth Tour was great for me.

"In the three ProTour events so far this year my scoring's been great but in all three matches I lost, I've missed lots of match darts, but I hit my doubles at the right time today.

"I hope I can continue this now and this is a big step for me."

[trotter]

Meh. Didn't he win 2 in the same weekend in 2008 and then do nothing for the following 4 years?

I'll wait until he gets to a televised semi/final before passing judgement.

i agree with you..to a point..MVG has thrown in a weekend like this every so often and then flattered to deceive...but i could see signs of returning to his old form at the back end of last year...and the thing is with MVG..he CAN perform on TV...he has shown what he can do years ago so , unlike some players who perform a good weekend on the floor he is well capable of taking that form to TV.
I agree that he needs to transfer this consistently to TV and have a good run or two and i do think this is a big year for him..but he is still young and i feel that he will do this and he will perform this year...but maybe not every event as he has a throw that when working is awesome but not 100% consistent...but there will be more awesome days this year..

[Booji Boy]

Great performance by MVG and hopefully this isnt just one of those very special days amongst lots of average/poor ones.

I reckon the youth tour is giving him a competitive edge he may not have had with getting humped all the time.

[Angela_ZB]

What a performance from the best talent we got in years. Did we see glimpses of that form earlier? YES
Back from a tough period, gained confidence at the youth tournaments. Let's hope we can enjoy his entertainment on tv soon.

For the ones who were there...you guys are very lucky!

[Wyn]

Mighty Mike,may your head stay strangely large,your bottom unusually big,and your darts straight.......good luck !!

[Tristan]

Michael van Gerwen entered the darting scene in a very impressive way. Within little to no time he started to win tournaments and left a big impression with the darting community, especially after throwing a 9 darter on TV and winning the world masters as the youngest ever. However, he had a setback after that but it was just a learning curve for him.

I don't know if the youth tour was a deciding factor. It's probably effective in the sense its less competitive compared to the real tour, but van gerwen would also realise that a YT victory doesn't carry the same meaning and weight as a real PT victory so I don't really see that point. Although I'm sure Rod Harrington would want us to believe so and will probably tell us this every opportunity he has.

[ChrisW]

Seems from his own comments he is expecting big things from every competition now.
And with what he did today doesn't surprise me.
I honestly didn't expect him to get past Whitlock and Chis. But to blow them away 6-0, 6-1.

[foggs3355]

what a great day for MVG i hope he does this in a player champs event so it would help make all the tv events this year

[GtotheF]

It's easy to forget that even at the age of 22, his darting CV is more impressive than 90% of guys who have ever played the game.

[spaceman70]

I travelled to Crawley with forum member madeinengland and fellow marker. The other Dave . He Was given MvG's board today, however there were loads of top players congealed on some boards than others. That's the nature of the FA cup of darts!

Anyway I covered for him as I did for others, in Dave's case because he had new shoes on and his feet had blistered but he brought a spare pair that were in the boot. Could he go get them? He also took the only good pen off the board accidentally and put it in his top pocket when he went.

He only realised on his way back and apparently was trying to get my attention to say he left me with a duff pen and had this one. Meanwhile I'm marking a match between MvG and Stuart Kellet and both played fantastic but MvG was on fire all day.

Eventually the pen was almost unreadable after 3 quick fire legs and I had to call a halt to the game as Michael was about to throw, which in his flow can be before you have even wiped the board from the previous leg. This halt to the game was met with momentary disapproval by MvG but did not affect the game as he stayed in the zone as he wàs all day.

When air stopped the game I turned round for the first time and saw Dave trying to signal to me with the pen he had left with.

Michael went and got the pen for me and smiled and got on with the rest of his day. On the way home Dave and I had a laugh about that.

[in the gravy]

Van Gerwen is a consistent player now, easily top 16 standard in the not too distant future. I'm concerned about Klaasen. Hes struggling bigtime.

[Justin Credible]

Great performance by MVG and hopefully this isnt just one of those very special days amongst lots of average/poor ones.

I reckon the youth tour is giving him a competitive edge he may not have had with getting humped all the time.

I addressed more or less the same issue on the other thread previously.I do think winning a few youth events might have added some confidence.

[ChrisW]

Great performance by MVG and hopefully this isnt just one of those very special days amongst lots of average/poor ones.

I reckon the youth tour is giving him a competitive edge he may not have had with getting humped all the time.

I addressed more or less the same issue on the other thread previously.I do think winning a few youth events might have added some confidence.

Some say he left the BDO too early. I think he has had a baptism of fire helped by the Youth initiative. Don't think he would have got that help with the BDO.
Whatever way he seems to have the confidence and the darts now to start a serious attack on the top 32.

[Karin]

Michael is a legend! So young and what a CV! In holland the most people wriiting him off because they think he don't perform or the looks he have! But Michael is such a sweet and nice guy and I'm so happy for him and his family that he's winning again! He's so good I think it's player who's going to be a legend and I'm proud to a friend

[Welshwizard79]

Mighty Mike,may your head stay strangely large,your bottom unusually big,and your darts straight.......good luck !!

[dynamite1]

mvg has been good since euros last summer he threw a 101 average nd lost to baxter 6-4 from then on a said he would have a good grand slam and world championship and did