Van Gerwen bidding to overtake Phil Taylor for Euros history

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN is bidding to overtake Phil Taylor and hit a record FIFTH European Championship history when he hits the stage in Dortmund.

Since inception in 2008, only two players have managed to win the European Championship on four separate occasions.

Phil Taylor was the first man to do it when he collected the opening quarter of stagings in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 before Van Gerwen matched The Power's run during his own period of darting dominance.

Following wins for Simon Whitlock in 2012 and Adrian Lewis, who had lost two of the Finals which Taylor won, in 2013, the Green Machine fired up and revved into top gear.

Van Gerwen beat Terry Jenkins 11-4 to capture the prize for the first time in 2014 and would go on an unbeaten run at the event which lasted the next four years.

Gary Anderson was sunk in the 2015 Final by 11-10 and Rob Cross lost out in 2017 by a scoreline of 11-7, with the Dutchman's most emphatic success coming in between a decade ago when he demolished Mensur Suljovic 11-1 in a Final rout.

Van Gerwen's sequence was ended by Steve West in the second round of the 2018 staging and he's been unable to get that elusive fifth triumph to eclipse Taylor since.

The closest shave came five years ago when he reached the Final only to lost out to two-times victor Cross and he was halted only by champion Gian van Veen 12 months ago when losing out 11-9 in the semis in Dortmund.

Van Gerwen heads into Dortmund looking to recreate the magic and overcome a frustrating recent run of results at major events.

During an interview in his homeland ahead of the Dutch Darts Championship where he stated that a fourth World title was biggest on his future target list, he explained the feelings of losing out in some key contests during the campaign as he said: “I often let myself down. Partly, that’s down to my own shortcomings, but sometimes the opponent gets a bit of luck too. I’ve had to take a few blows. These defeats hurt, of course, but fortunately I can take a lot. I want to turn things around as soon as possible. It doesn’t always happen, though.”

Van Gerwen's point was almost subsequently proven when William O'Connor delivered some of his best and produced a stunning display to knock him out at the first hurdle in Maastricht and he was left on the outside looking in as three of his countrymen, champion Niels Zonneveld, Danny Noppert and Van Veen made the last four on home soil.

The four-time Euros winner gets started on Friday in Dortmund against Kevin Doets and, should he get the job done over the weekend in Westfalenhallen, the near-decade long crusade will finally reach a thrilling conclusion.

Images by Taylor Lanning.