Michael van Gerwen is greatest player in Premier League darts history after battering Gerwyn Price for seventh title

GREEN MACHINE Michael van Gerwen was in Seventh Heaven as he overtook Phil Taylor as the greatest player in the history of the Premier League Darts.

The relentless Dutchman defied an upper arm injury to batter Gerwyn Price 11-5 in an anticlimactic final in front of 11,000 punters at London’s O2 Arena.

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This is a record seventh Prem crown within 10 years, a result that moves him one ahead of Taylor, who retired from oche throwing in January 2018.

Van Gerwen, 34, withdrew from the semi-final showdown with Dimitri van den Bergh last Thursday in Aberdeen after experiencing pain in his right throwing arm.

But after various medical assessments and a visit to the chiropractor, the three-time world darts champion was given a clean bill of health.

And despite a scrappy 10-8 semi-final win over Michael Smith, he showed his enduring class against Price to claim the £275,000 first prize.

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Van Gerwen, who took out a magnificent 170 finish, said: “I’ve worked really hard lately. Everyone knows I had problems last week.

“I put the pressure on myself. That motivated me. It probably made me win. I played some fantastic darts. You always have to peak at the right moment.

“Of course Phil Taylor is an icon, but he has retired.

“People, when they get old, they retire. And other people stand up and get the records. It has happened to Andre Agassi and Roger Federer. That’s sport.

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“I saw specialists last Friday and they said I could play, but I had to relax. I didn’t throw any darts until the night and it has worked out well for me.”

Price, who had topped 16-week table, will bank £125,000 for his troubles, and he said: “I just couldn’t find a treble or double or anything. That’s how it goes sometimes. I’m gutted.

“I just felt like this is one that has got away. I have played my best stuff ever.

“Every time I was throwing a dart, the board was moving. I was missing by so far. I wasn’t even so close. I wasn’t sure what happened.”

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