"That gives me confidence going into the Premier League and for the rest of the year - I love winning and I want to keep the feeling going."
Monday 14 May 2018 11:49, UK
Michael van Gerwen claimed his fourth European Tour title of 2018 as he defeated Steve Lennon 8-5 in the final of the Dutch Darts Masters in Zwolle.
The world No 1 followed up his astonishing success at last week's European Darts Grand Prix by securing his 24th European Tour title in front of a partisan home crowd at the IJsselhallen.
Lennon enjoyed a magnificent run to the final in Zwolle, in just his ninth appearance at a European Tour event. However, 'The Green Machine' was just too strong for the Irishman.
Lennon won the opening leg but Van Gerwen reeled off five straight legs in 15, 13, 13, 13 and 15 darts to establish a commanding 5-1 cushion.
The Dutchman extended his lead to 7-3 and although the Irishman battled back to make it 7-5, MVG sealed victory on double 10, moments after Lennon had missed darts at double to reduce the deficit further.
Van Gerwen kicked off his campaign with a whitewash win over Terry Jenkins, before defeating Darren Webster, Kyle Anderson and Daryl Gurney en route to clinching the £25,000 winner's prize.
Nevertheless, it was not all plain-sailing for the two-time world champion. He battled past Webster 6-4 in a scrappy third-round clash, before surviving three match darts as he recovered from 6-2 down to edge out Gurney 7-6 in the semis.
"It's an amazing feeling to win in front of my home crowd. I didn't play my best game this weekend but I did enough good things in the right moments to win matches where I wasn't at my best," Van Gerwen said.
"That gives me confidence going into the Premier League and for the rest of the year - I love winning and I want to keep the feeling going.
"Steve was brilliant this weekend, he got better as the game went on and he will be a better player for this experience."
Lennon, who received a bye through to round three following Rob Cross' withdrawal, performed superbly to reach his maiden PDC final.
He followed up his deciding-leg win over Rowby-John Rodriguez by edging out James Richardson to reach the last eight, before defeating Mensur Suljovic and Kim Huybrechts to seal his spot in the final.
"I grew in confidence as the tournament went on. I was very nervous at the start of the tournament and I got a bit lucky," Lennon admitted.
"I have no shame in losing to the best player in the planet and now I have to use this weekend's performance as a springboard to bigger things this year.".
The tungsten action continues for the conclusion of the Premier League season with the Play-Offs on Thursday, May 17 at The O2 in London.
Keep up to date with the latest darts news, previews, reports, reaction and expert analysis. Get all the latest at www.skysports.com/darts and join in the conversation @SkySportsDarts- don't forget to use #LoveTheDarts
Never miss the big kick-off or have to deal with interrupted games or low-quality streams with a NOW TV Sky Sports Pass. You'll get exclusive coverage of the Premier League, Sky Bet EFL, EFL Cup and loads more starting from just £7.99. No contract.
