Michael van Gerwen ended his long wait for a first PDC title of 2021 as he survived a major scare from Fallon Sherrock to win 11-7 in the final of the Nordic Masters in Copenhagen.
The three-time world champion overcame Madars Razma 10-4 in his quarter-final earlier in the day before seeing off Premier League winner Jonny Clayton 11-7 in the semi-finals.
Sherrock had reached her first PDC final by producing a thrilling comeback to beat former World Matchplay champion Dimitri Van den Bergh 11-10 in the last four, having faced deficits of 8-2 and 10-6.
I am over the moon to have won here in Copenhagen, and the feeling is phenomenal again. Huge credit to @fsherrock over the whole tournament she has been phenomenal. She pushed me harder than some tour card holders. She is a top talent not for ladies darts, but for darts. pic.twitter.com/XqopWUb8MZ — Michael Van Gerwen (@MvG180) September 18, 2021
Having produced finishes of 101 and 100 in the last two legs of that match, she looked capable of causing another stunning upset as she led 6-3 during the early stages of the final but Van Gerwen reeled off six straight legs to clinch the crown.
"I had to wait a long time to win a trophy," said Van Gerwen in an emotional on-stage interview.
"Fallon played a phenomenal tournament and I think she played one of her best games in her life in the final and I want to give her all the credit because she made it really difficult.
"I think I deserved it this weekend. I played really well overall but also the crowd has been absolutely phenomenal. It's been too long since we had crowds like this, especially on a televised tournament, all I can say is thank you very much.
"I've been through a really tough period, this means so much to me. I've been working really hard on my game and then it finally pays off and I think I played really well over here."
OMG what a night...... absolutely buzzing despite not winning – so proud of myself 😎. So many emotions I'm speechless. Thank you to EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE. Congrats to @MvG180 – I can see why your the best now 🙈😂😂😂😂- thank you Denmark you were amazing ❤️ pic.twitter.com/xEc5KVTxNN — Fallon Sherrock (@Fsherrock) September 18, 2021
Sherrock tweeted afterwards: "What a night... absolutely buzzing despite not winning – so proud of myself.
"Congrats to @MvG180 – I can see why your the best now"
