2019 German Darts Championship Day One

European Tour

NATHAN ASPINALL put in a scintillating display in the performance of the opening round of the 2019 German Darts Championship.

Portela Amongst Final Qualifiers In For ET2

European Tour

DIOGO PORTELA, Mike De Decker and Jyhan Artut were amongst the final qualifiers for the German Darts Championship.

2019 German Darts Championship Draw & Schedule

European Tour

THE German Darts Championship begins on Friday, with Dimitri van den Bergh set to face Steve Beaton in the first round.

Nine-Dart Van Gerwen Lifts First European Title of 2019

European Tour

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN hit a nine-dart finish on his way to winning the first European Tour title of 2019.

2019 European Darts Open Day Two

European Tour

KRZYSZTOF RATAJSKI produced the performance of the day to knock Michael Smith out of the European Darts Open.

2019 European Darts Open Day One

European Tour

RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD'S return to European Tour action ended in a 6-4 defeat to Steve Beaton in Leverkusen.

Artut Heads ET1 Host Nation Qualifiers

European Tour

JYHAN ARTUT headlined the four Host Nation Qualifiers for the European Darts Open.

2019 European Darts Open Draw & Schedule

European Tour

THE European Darts Open begins on Friday, with Raymond van Barneveld set to face Steve Beaton in the first round.

2019 European Tour 3-4 Qualifiers

European Tour

STEVE BEATON, Stephen Bunting and Kyle Anderson were among eight players to secure a European Tour qualification double.

Eight Players Land European Tour Places

European Tour

EIGHT players claimed spots in European Tour events at the three East Europe and four Nordic and Baltic Qualifiers.

Michael van Gerwen picked up his second European Tour title of the year in Graz on Sunday, defeating Danny Noppert 8-5 in the final.

Van Gerwen backed up his German Darts Championship win in March by defeating fellow-Dutchman Noppert in front of a capacity crowd at the Premstättner Halle to pocket the £25,000 winner's prize.

The world number three ended last year with just one ranking title to his name, but already has four this time around as the three-time World Champion continues his resurgence in 2022.

"I always want to win, I always put pressure on my shoulders so to win this title means a lot," said Van Gerwen, who now has 34 European Tour titles to his name.

"We all had to wait a long time to play this tournament again but this crowd made it worth the wait; they were phenomenal, not just for me but for everyone in the tournament.

"It was really hard to perform on stage because of the heat which makes me even more proud of myself to get this win."

The tournament reached its climax with Finals Day on Sunday, with the last 16 taking place in the afternoon session before the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in the evening.

Van Gerwen avenged Thursday's Premier League loss to James Wade in the last 16 tie, coming through a last-leg decider to set up a quarter-final meeting with Dirk van Duijvenbode.

Van Gerwen's most impressive display of the weekend saw him average 106.05 to earn a 6-1 win over his countryman, before seeing off Stephen Bunting 7-5 in the semi-finals.

The final saw Noppert fight back from 3-0 down, hitting a 120 checkout on the way, to level at 3-3 and the pair remained all square four legs later at 5-5.

The 12th leg proved decisive as Van Gerwen landed a 14-dart break of throw to open up daylight at 7-5, before following up with another 14-darter to seal victory.

The wait for a maiden European Tour title goes on for Noppert, who reached his first final having previously made the semi-finals on three occasions.

The UK Open champion enjoyed victories over Premier League leader Jonny Clayton, Joe Cullen and Nathan Aspinall en route to the final.

It was another encouraging weekend for Aspinall on his return from injury, defeating Madars Razma and Ricky Evans to reach the last four.

Drawboard