BRIGHT VAN MAN
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN romped to his fourth Unibet Premier League darts crown – with cone ranger Robin van Persie as his celebrity cheerleader.
The former Arsenal striker (below) had a front row view of his fellow Dutchman in unstoppable form at London’s O2 arena.
With a frightening average of 112.37 – the highest-ever in a Premier League final – world No.1 Van Gerwen bullied Michael ‘Bully Boy’ Smith into submission, winning a one-sided final 11-4.
Van Persie, wearing a Shrek-green replica top from MVG’S collection and a comedy road-cone hat, led the acclaim for one of the finest performances in a final.
It was just shy of Van Gerwen’s 112.49 average in the Masters final against compatriot Raymond van Barneveld three years ago.
Smith, who had conquered his mentor Gary Anderson
10-6 in the semifinal, did not play badly.
But after suffering from pleurisy in the build-up, he was left dizzy by one of the greatest displays ever seen on either side of the Greenwich meridian which dissects this iconic wigwam.
Van Gerwen, who pocketed a £250,000 cheque, said: “Until the break I played phenomenal darts – there was only going to be one winner. After the world championship, this is the big one and everyone knows how much I wanted to win this trophy again.
Earlier, world champion Rob Cross –who was admitted to hospital with chest pains last week – went down 10-6 in his semi-final against Van Gerwen.
But he refused to use his health scare as an excuse, instead turning his attention to the World Cup of Darts in Germany at the end of this month.
Cross said: “What a privilege it will be to pull on an England shirt and represent my country. I’ve never played for England before – I’m going to walk tall on that stage.”