Sunday 26 October 2014 23:19, UK
World champion Michael van Gerwen claimed his first-ever European Championship win with an easy victory over Terry Jenkins in Germany on Sunday.
The top seed thrashed Jenkins 11-4 in the RWE-Sporthalle in Mulheim to collect his seventh major title in the last two years – and second within two weeks after his success in the World Grand Prix.
It marked a great night’s work by the Dutchman, who earlier hit a nine-darter in his semi-final victory over Raymond van Barneveld, while the defeat was Jenkins' ninth in a major PDC televised final.
Van Gerwen took the first leg of the final with a 15-darter and never looked back, breaking Jenkins with a 78 finish for another 15-darter to go two up and then hitting tops to make it 3-0 and double 10 to break Jenkins once more.
He then took out a 167 finish with bull to make it 5-0 going into the break before Jenkins hit his first maximum of the match and then double 10 to take his first leg.
‘The Bull’ hit another maximum and finished on tops to claw another leg back and landed tops again to further reduce the arrears.
But van Gerwen stopped the rot with double 10 and then double 14 to break Jenkins once more and make it 7-3 going into the next break.
The top seed hit tops to restore his five leg lead and double eight to pull 9-3 ahead before a double nine left him one leg away from victory.
Jenkins battled back, hitting a double ten to keep himself in the match before van Gerwen sunk an 11-darter with tops to win in style.
Earlier, the Dutchman hit a nine-darter in leg seven of his 11-6 semi-final victory over van Barneveld, finishing with a double 12, while in the quarters, he defeated Dave Chisnall 10-5 with a massive average of 111.
Jenkins earlier beat Stephen Bunting 10-7 in the quarters and Mervyn King 11-8 in the semi-finals to make his first ever final of the event – but again he could not get over the line and claim a major title.
