European Darts Trophy 2016: MVG denies Suljovic in epic

The Dutchman had missed last week's International Darts Open through injury and it was Suljovic who capitalised by claiming his first career title on the PDC circuit.

And the Austrian maintained his momentum in Muelheim by following up his 6-0 thrashing of Vincent Kamphuis on Saturday with a 6-1 win over Peter Wright in the quarter-finals before knocking out James Wade 6-3 to reach his second consecutive final.

Suljovic looked to have the beating of van Gerwen until the world number one produced some breath-taking darts to clinch it in a last leg decider to claim his 13th European Tour title.

Having shared the opening two legs, an early break in the third looked to put van Gerwen in the driving seat.

He was pegged back immediately by Suljovic, however, who then won the next two legs including a match-high 84 checkout for another break of throw and a 4-2 lead.

The 27-year-old dug deep with back-to-back 13-darters to level things up at 4-4, but still required a break to clinch the title.

Suljovic moved onto the brink of victory at 5-4, but it was here that the Dutchman produced his best darts, with a 12-dart hold followed by an 11-dart break of throw in the decisive leg to snatch the victory.

On his way to the final, van Gerwen produced a similar feat in the semi's as he overcame Kim Huybrechts by the same score line.

The former World Champion was the aggressor this time over, and was leading 5-4 with the throw, only to see Huybrechts produce a stunning 103 checkout under pressure to level and swing the game back in his favour.

But van Gerwen again found a last leg break in the decider to squeeze through to set up the clash with Suljovic.

The game of the day arguably came in van Gerwen's 6-2 quarter-final clash with Jelle Klaasen however, as he averaged a tournament record 115.13 average in a 6-2 victory.

Klaasen was no slouch, and could otherwise count himself unlucky as he averaged 107 himself in a frantic affair that saw eight legs wrapped up in just 10 minutes 17 seconds.

Van Gerwen also beat Keegan Brown the second round and Simon Whitlock in the third on his way to the title.

It was another superb week for Suljovic on the Oche as he made his second consecutive final.

Having whitewashed Vincent Kamphuis in his opening game, he then registered a comfortable 6-3 win over Ian White to reach the Quarter-Finals.

There he faced Peter Wright, a man he had failed to beat in all of their previous four meetings, but handled the task with aplomb as he raced to a 6-1 victory.

Standing in his way of a place in the last two was James Wade, but again Suljovic was measured in his approach and consistent doubling (60%), coupled with a 100 average saw him make it back-to-back finals with a 6-3 victory - before falling to van Gerwen's brilliance.

It was another good weekend for Huybrechts also. After losing out to Suljovic in the final at the International Darts Open a week ago, the fourth seed got off to a magnificent start with a whitewash of the in-form Kyle Anderson on day two.

He then narrowly squeezed past Terry Jenkins 6-5, a player he had beaten just twice previously in his career, before beating Gerwyn Price - playing in his first European Tour quarter-final of the year - to set up his semi-final clash with winner van Gerwen.

Defending champion Michael Smith will perhaps be disappointed with his efforts on the final day. A 6-0 whitewash of young Belgian Dimitri Van den Bergh in his opening match of the competition got him off to the perfect start, before beating three-time major winner Robert Thornton in the third round.

But he saw his grip on the title slip away as he was edged out by Wade in a last-leg thriller. 

European Darts Trophy 2016: Results

Friday September 9
First Round
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm BST)
Zoran Lerchbacher 6-2 Joe Murnan 
Vincent Kamphuis 6-5 Ronny Huybrechts
Martin Schindler 6-3 Janos Vegso 
Josh Payne 6-4 Cristo Reyes
Andy Smith 6-1 Robbie Green
Keegan Brown 6-1 Justin Webers
Dimitri Van de Bergh 6-3 Mervyn King
Justin Pipe 6-1 Ritchie Edhouse

Evening Session (6pm-10pm BST)
Jermaine Wattimena 6-4 Simon Stevenson 
Jyhan Artut 1-6 Ricky Evans
Andy Jenkins 6-3 Steve West
Kyle Anderson 6-0 Darren Webster
Jamie Caven 6-5 Kevin Munch
Devon Petersen 6-5 Matthew Dennant
Vincent van der Voort 6-1 Max Hopp
Joe Cullen 6-5 Jamie Lewis

Saturday September 10
Second Round
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm BST)
Robert Thornton 6-5 Martin Schindler
Terry Jenkins 6-5 Zoran Lerchbacher
Gerwyn Price 6-2 Jermaine Wattimena
Mensur Suljovic 6-0 Vincent Kamphuis
James Wade 6-5 Justin Pipe
Andy Jenkins 6-5 Alan Norris
Michael Smith 6-0 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Ian White 6-5 Devon Petersen

Evening Session (6pm-10pm BST)
Stephen Bunting 4-6 Joe Cullen
Kim Huybrechts 6-0 Kyle Anderson
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Jamie Caven
Peter Wright 6-0 Andy Smith
Jelle Klaasen 6-1 Vincent van der Voort
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Keegan Brown
Benito van de Pas 6-1 Josh Payne
Simon Whitlock 6-5 Ricky Evans

Sunday September 11
Afternoon Session (12pm-4pm BST)
Third Round
James Wade 6-3 Andy Jenkins
Michael Smith 6-4 Robert Thornton
Ian White 3-6 Mensur Suljovic
Peter Wright 6-5 Joe Cullen
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Terry Jenkins
Dave Chisnall 3-6 Gerwyn Price
Benito van de Pas 5-6 Jelle Klaasen
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Simon Whitlock

Evening Session (6pm-10pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
James Wade 6-5 Michael Smith
Mensur Suljovic 6-1 Peter Wright 
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Gerwyn Price
Jelle Klaasen 2-6 Michael van Gerwen

Semi-Finals
James Wade 3-6 Mensur Suljovic
Kim Huybrechts 5-6 Michael van Gerwen

Final
Mensur Suljovic 5-6 Michael van Gerwen