World Grand Prix darts final: Leg-by-leg report and highlights from Michael van Gerwen 5-2 Dave Chisnall

🔄 Please refresh for updates

• World Grand Prix tournament results
• Follow on Twitter
• Scroll down for leg-by-leg report, highlights & stats

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN BEATS DAVE CHISNALL 5-2 IN THE WORLD GRAND PRIX FINAL

Michael van Gerwen once again has a major trophy in his hands as he bags his fifth World Grand Prix title and his 36 individual major of a truly astonishing career that knows no boundaries.

In total he now has 50 televised crowns if you include his three World Cups for Netherlands while his overall career tally of PDC tournament triumphs reaches 127!

After lifting the trophy yet again and pocketing £110,000, the Dutchman said: "It means a lot to me and I'm really pleased with this victory. It's been a phenomenal week for me and I played really well, and it was a really good performance in the final because Dave put me under pressure. This was some of the best darts I've seen from Dave and he never gave in.

"He had a great tournament and he played really well and pushed me, but every time in the important moments I did the right thing - and I think going 3-1 up was a big moment. I feel good and I want to keep this form going now into the big tournaments we have coming up."

But it's more heartbreak for Dave Chisnall who remains one of the best players never to have won a major after a fifth defeat in a final although he must take a lot of heart from a superb performance to end a wonderful week that proved he's a big-time player once again.

There's no way anyone can say he bottled it - he played to as high a standard as he's done all week and his 12 maximums helped him average an impressive 93.32.

Chisnall said: "It's been a positive week and I've played well so I'm proud. When you go 4-1 down against Michael van Gerwen it's going to be tough but I never gave in.

"It was a game of fine margins and I missed crucial doubles in a couple of legs, but that's darts. He punished me and it's my own fault, but I will work on it.

"I've had a great tournament and the atmosphere during the final was fantastic, the crowd gave us both great support. I did better than in 2013 and I'm proud of myself."

His display tonight would probably have been enough to beat anyone else but ultimately he found MVG in rampant mood, just like in nearly all of their previous 59 contests.

The three-time world champion has now defeated Chizzy 48 times while the St Helens man's winless run now extends to 27 games, with his best result in that time being a Premier League draw. His only victory over him in 31 televised meetings is the 2013 World Grand Prix.

SET ONE SCORE: Van Gerwen 3-0 Chisnall
MATCH SCORE: Van Gerwen 1-0 Chisnall (Best of 9 sets)

• Leg Three
  Well that opening set was short and sweet as the world champion races through the third leg in 17 darts despite missing his opening three darts at a starting double for the second time in the set.
  MVG 3-0 Chisnall
• Leg Two
  The defending champion takes early control of this contest as a 58 checkout completes a 15-dart break of throw, with Chizzy way back on 222 having failed to get away with his first visit.
  MVG 2-0 Chisnall
• Leg One, MVG to throw first
  MVG fails to hit a starting double at his first visit but Chizzy only gets away with his third dart and the Dutchman responds to take the opening leg in 18 darts.
  MVG 1-0 Chisnall

2010: The wait is nearly over as the players make their way to the stage at the Citywest Convention Centre.

1955: So who are you backing to lift the prestigious trophy tonight? Will it be MVG's 36th PDC major or Chizzy's first? Obviously I'm rooting for Chisnall having tipped him at 50/1 each-way pre-tournament but I've tried to put that bias to one side in my preview of tonight's final. Click here to read my prediction.

1915: Finally, before we take a break before the players get on the oche at the Citywest Convention Centre around 8pm, let's take a look at the head-to-head record, which is pretty grim for Dave Chisnall fans.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

• Overall: 47-9 (2 draws)
• 2019 Meetings: 4-0 (On TV: 1-0)
• TV Meetings: 27-1 (2 draws)

We've already mentioned how Van Gerwen is the man responsible for beating him in two of his four major finals at the (11-6) and (11-3), but at least Chizzy has a crumb of comfort knowing that his only televised victory over the Dutchman came here on this stage at the 2013 World Grand Prix quarter-final.

Worryingly, his last win of any kind game back in February 2016. They have played 26 times since then, with Chisnall's best result being a draw.

And the less said about their record on TV - which includes all majors, Premier League meetings and those World Series of Darts tournaments around the world - the better!

1850: For those of you who love the stats, these might make interesting reading from this year's World Grand Prix. Michael van Gerwen's are listed on the left...

• Tournament Average: 91.44 - 90.12
• Best Average: 94.79 (v De Zwaan) - 92.50 (v Price)
• Tournament 180s: 10 - 18
• Starting Doubles Missed: 92 in 59 legs - 103 in 64 legs
• Number of no score opening visits: 19 (6, 6, 5 & 2) - 19 (6, 4, 2 & 7)
• Checkout %: 42.86% (39/91) - 44.44% (40/90)
• High Checkout: 170 - 170
• Ton+ Checkouts: 6 - 10

As you can see, the averages are pretty similar and both have managed 90+ in three of their four matches which highlights how their scoring consistency - as well as their clinical finishing at the end of legs - has somewhat overcome any difficulties getting away. Not that they've overly struggled in that area of the game, although MVG has fared better than Chizzy, who ruined the overall look of his double-in stats against Durrant with seven visits of no scoring.

1835: Moving onto Chizzy's route to his second World Grand Prix final...

• First round: 2-1 Gerwyn Price (2-3, 3-0, 3-2): Average: 92.5
• Second round: 3-0 Stephen Bunting (3-2, 3-1, 3-0) Average: 86.35
• Quarter-finals: 3-1 Nathan Aspinall (3-2, 3-1, 2-3, 3-1) Average: 90
• Semi-finals: 4-1 Glen Durrant (3-0, 0-3, 3-2, 3-2, 3-2) Average: 91.17

Chizzy has been playing brilliantly all week and if anything it's been his opponents suffering from jitters at the key moments rather than himself. After somewhat undeservedly dragging himself into a situation when he was throwing for the match, Gerwyn Price failed in three visits to get away as he gifted the deciding leg to Chisnall in round one while Stephen Bunting was never at the races in the St Helens derby and Nathan Aspinall was unable to apply pressure in a fourth set having punished him for two missed match darts in the third. Chizzy then held his nerve in three successive deciding legs to defeat three-time BDO world champion Glen Durrant last night, with the help of a 170 checkout.

1830: Let's take a look at how both players got here, starting with Michael van Gerwen. Just click on the round if you want to read a report from the night to refresh your mind on what happened...

• First round: 2-1 Jamie Hughes (2-3, 3-1, 3-1) Average: 84.59
• Second round: 3-0 Jeffrey De Zwaan (3-0, 3-1, 3-1) Average: 94.79
• Quarter-finals: 3-1 Mervyn King (3-2, 1-3, 3-1, 3-2) Average: 94.64
• Semi-finals: 4-0 Chris Dobey (3-1, 3-2, 3-2, 3-0) Average: 91.41

The defending champion could so easily have fallen at the first hurdle for the second time in three years against the dangerous Jamie Hughes but after surviving that test in three sets, he overcame two players who had shocked him at majors over the past couple of seasons. He demolished Jeffrey de Zwaan 3-0 in the second round before edging out Mervyn King in a thrilling quarter-final which saw both players hit 170 checkouts. In the last four he was far too strong for Chris Dobey, who spurned a some crucial darts in his first appearance in a major semi-final.