Michael van Gerwen edged out Joe Cullen in an epic final to clinch his sixth Cazoo Premier League title on an incredible night of action at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin on Monday.<\/p>\n
Van Gerwen denied a heartbroken Cullen 11-10 in one of the greatest games to ever grace the Premier League stage, after the debutant missed a match dart at double 16 in a thrilling decider.<\/p>\n
However, the Dutchman kept his cool to fire in a 13-darter and equal Phil Taylor\u2019s haul of six Premier League titles, as he celebrates victory in a first PDC Premier event for over 18 months.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been going through a really tough time, so to win this title means a lot to me,\u201d reflected an emotional Van Gerwen, who eased past James Wade 10-4 in the semi-finals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a happy man. Joe Cullen was phenomenal in that final. What a day. I\u2019m over the moon.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course I am going for more titles now. To have won this trophy here in Berlin is amazing. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis last 18 months has hurt me. I know what I\u2019m capable of, but this crowd in Germany today, they were absolutely sensational. I think they were a credit to the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cullen drew first blood in the final with a sublime 11-dart hold, but after spurning three darts to break in leg two, he saw Van Gerwen seize the early initiative with a sequence of three straight legs.<\/p>\n
The Yorkshireman responded with back-to-back legs to restore parity, only for Van Gerwen to restore his two-leg buffer at 5-3 courtesy of a 12-dart break.<\/p>\n
Cullen reduced the arrears with a spectacular 141 finish in leg nine, and a clinical 114 checkout in leg 11 sparked a run of three straight legs for the Masters champion, who edged 7-6 ahead.<\/p>\n
The next five legs went with throw, before Van Gerwen appeared to strike the decisive blow in leg 19, converting a sensational 92 kill to break throw in 12 darts and move one leg away from glory.<\/p>\n
The drama continued as Cullen broke straight back in 13 darts to force a decider, but it was the Dutchman who claimed the spoils via double 14, having survived a match dart in the previous visit.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael is a fantastic player and a fantastic champion, but I am absolutely gutted,\u201d admitted Cullen, who was bidding to become the third successive debutant to be crowned Premier League champion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot believe I\u2019ve lost, but credit to Michael, he is a great guy and a wonderful champion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the second leg cost me, missing three at 32 for a break of throw. I\u2019m absolutely devastated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier in the evening, Cullen produced an astonishing display of power scoring to thwart Jonny Clayton\u2019s bid for back-to-back Premier League titles.<\/p>\n
Cullen stormed into a remarkable 6-0 lead against the reigning champion before closing out a resounding 10-4 victory, averaging almost 101 and crashing in 11 maximums \u2013 equalling the tournament record for 180s in a match.<\/p>\n
In the second semi-final, Van Gerwen defeated 2009 champion Wade by the same scoreline to book his place in a record-equalling eighth Premier League showpiece.<\/p>\n
The opening six legs of the last four contest were shared, but a blistering burst from Van Gerwen saw him win seven of the last eight to pull away from Wade and triumph with a 99 average and six 180s.<\/p>\n
Van Gerwen – who now returns to the Netherlands for surgery on an arm injury – pockets \u00a3305,000 in total from the Premier League season, with three nightly wins earning him a \u00a330,000 bonus in addition to the \u00a3275,000 top prize.<\/p>\n
Cullen, meanwhile, claimed \u00a3125,000 as runner-up and took home a further \u00a320,000 in bonus prize money.<\/p>\n
Table-topper Clayton’s four night wins during the season boosted his \u00a385,000 prize money to a total of \u00a3125,000, while Wade earned \u00a3105,000 following his strong season.<\/p>\n
Cazoo Premier League Play-Offs Final <\/strong> Michael van Gerwen edged out Joe Cullen in an epic final to clinch his sixth Cazoo Premier League title on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[943,124],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-results"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nMonday June 13
\nMercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin
\nSemi-Finals<\/strong>
\nJoe Cullen 10-4 Jonny Clayton
\nMichael van Gerwen 10-4 James Wade <\/p>\n
\nMichael van Gerwen 11-10 Joe Cullen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"