World No 1 survives huge scare in semi-final as Kyle Anderson misses match darts for a notable victory
Sunday 29 October 2017 23:19, UK
Michael van Gerwen won a fourth successive European Championship title, beating Rob Cross 11-7 in Belgium.
MVG won all three of his matches on finals Sunday in Hasselt, and had to produce his very best throughout to claim the title and extend a four-year unbeaten record in the event where he last lost to Adrian Lewis in 2013.
Van Gerwen proved too strong for Cross in the final, but that should detract from another incredible achievement from Cross who reached his first TV final after wins over Michael Smith and World Grand Prix champion Daryl Gurney earlier in the day.
It is Cross' debut season on the PDC Tour and having picked up a number of Tour titles, including three Players Championship events all that has been missing is a performance on the big stage.
And with the season entering it's business end he proved a match for Van Gerwen, especially over the first 10 legs which were split evenly with both men trading big finishes and an average in excess on 108.
But as is his way MVG put on the afterburners to pull away from Cross and seal another title, and his third final victory over Cross in the last two months.
However it could have been very different for Van Gerwen, who beat Simon Whitlock in the afternoon's quarter-final, had Kyle Anderson take the opportunities that came his way in a thrilling semi-final between the pair that included a nine-dart finish from the Australian.
Like Cross, Anderson has enjoyed a breakthrough year, and in his semi-final with MVG the looked to be on his way to a huge victory, pinning nine perfect darts in the 11th leg of the contest.
It proved the perfect fuel for the Anderson fire as he battled back from 8-5 behind to lead 9-8.
When he broke to level at 10-10 he was throwing for the match and the biggest win of his career. But MVG hung on and when Anderson missed darts for the match, the Dutchman punished him to reach the final where he was joined by Cross who hammered Gurney 11-3.
Afternoon - Quarter-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 10-5 Simon Whitlock
Kyle Anderson 10-7 Mensur Suljovic
Peter Wright 5-10 Daryl Gurney
Rob Cross 10-4 Michael Smith
Evening Session
Semi-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 11-10 Kyle Anderson
Daryl Gurney 11-3 Rob Cross
Final
Michael van Gerwen 11-7 Rob Cross
The Grand Slam of Darts gets underway live on Sky Sports as the best of the PDC compete against the best of the BDO - the action from the Wolverhampton Civic Hall begins on Saturday, November 11 with a double session.
Keep up to date with the news as the tungsten enters its busiest time of year with the PDC World Championships just around the corner get all the latest at www.skysports.com/darts and join in the conversation @SkySportsDarts.
