Michael van Gerwen has won his third World Matchplay title with an 18-14 victory over Gerwyn Price in a thrilling final on Sunday night.
The Dutchman, who had surgery on his throwing arm as recently as last month, squandered numerous darts at a double during the first half of an absorbing contest.
However, the fact that he never averaged below 100 throughout the entire match highlighted the level of Van Gerwen's scoring, a total of 15 180s being posted to Price's nine.
Price lead 4-0 during the early stages, hitting checkouts of 64, 101 and 70, before Van Gerwen got on the board with a 10-darter, agonisingly missing double 12 for the nine.
A 160 checkout followed to make it 4-3, but the array of missed doubles continued with Price being allowed to move 9-6 ahead at the third interval.
The three-leg gap was maintained through to 11-8 but as Van Gerwen continued to outscore the newly-crowned world number one, Price began to show a lack of ruthlessness on his doubles.
VAN GERWEN IS THE WORLD MATCHPLAY CHAMPION! 🏆🏆🏆
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) July 24, 2022
Michael van Gerwen becomes a three-time @Betfred World Matchplay champion, clinching the title with a majestic 121 finish to close out an 18-14 win over Gerwyn Price in a magnificent final!
The three-peat. pic.twitter.com/eNHewJGbz3
While the final statistics read that Van Gerwen had missed 33 darts at a double, many of Price's 19 failed attempts came during the second half of the contest.
Although Price was able to move 14-13 ahead, he did not have momentum on his side, Van Gerwen powering in checkouts of 130 and 114 respectively to further cement his authority.
Even though he started the 32nd leg with a maximum, Price already looked resigned to defeat, and after he missed the bull for an 88 checkout, Van Gerwen finished 121 to add to the Premier League crown that he won last month.
Darren Plant
