Michael van Gerwen took his record tally of European Tour titles to 30 after beating Simon Whitlock 8-3 in the final of the German Darts Grand Prix, held in Munich on Monday.

The world number one claimed the £25,000 crown with a dominant performance in the decider, averaging 106.45 to Whitlock’s 94.38.

Van Gerwen raced into a 5-0 lead, aided by a 137 checkout on two double-tops and a 100 finish in two darts, before Whitlock, who had not beaten the Dutchman in his last 14 attempts, won back-to-back legs to trail by three.

The top seed was clinical on the doubles, though, hitting eight out of his 12 attempts, as he reached the eight-leg mark first to lift the trophy.

“I’m absolutely delighted to retain my title here in Munich and clinch a 30th European Tour title,” van Gerwen said.

“This is a great achievement for me. I wasn’t at my best at the start of this evening, but I did the right things at the right times and always felt confident.

“Simon is a great player and I’m just happy to get past him and win another title for my fans.”

Monday’s final session started with van Gerwen being pushed to a deciding leg in the quarter-finals by Development Tour star Ted Evetts, who took out checkouts of 144 and 128 to come back from 5-2 down, before losing the 11th leg.

In the semi-finals, the Dutchman continued his recent dominance over world number two, and Premier League rival, Rob Cross, winning 7-1 to book his place in the final.

Meanwhile, a rejuvenated Whitlock saw off Joe Cullen 6-1 in the last eight, before battling back from 6-4 down to edge past home favourite Max Hopp 7-6 in the semi-finals.

Most PDC European Tour titles
30 – Michael van Gerwen
6 – Peter Wright
4 – Michael Smith, Phil Taylor
2 – James Wade, Kim Huybrechts, Mensur Suljovic
1 – Dave Chisnall, Simon Whitlock, Mervyn King, Steve Beaton, Justin Pipe, Gary Anderson, Daryl Gurney, Adrian Lewis, Gerwyn Price, Ian White, Jonny Clayton, Max Hopp, Wes Newton, Alan Norris, John Part, Robert Thornton, Raymond van Barneveld, Vincent van der Voort

Picture: PDC/PDC Europe