Michael van Gerwen successfully defended his title at the 2017 European Championship to claim the 100,000 in prize money guaranteed to the winner at the Ethias Arena in Hasselt, Belgium, on Sunday.Van Gerwen beat Rob Cross, who is playing his first season on the PDC Darts circuit, to make it four European Championship wins in a row, equalling the record held by Phil Taylor.Earlier, Van Gerwen made the final by beating Simon Whitlock and Kyle Anderson, while Cross saw off Michael Smith and Daryl Gurney.Here are the full results and final scores from the final day's play:Quarter-FinalsMichael van Gerwen 10-5 Simon WhitlockDaryl Gurney 10-5 Peter WrightKyle Anderson 10-7 Mensur SuljovicRob Cross 10-4 Michael SmithSemi-FinalsMichael van Gerwen 11-10 Kyle AndersonRob Cross 11-3 Daryl GurneyFinalMichael van Gerwen 11-7 Rob CrossQuarter-FinalsVan Gerwen made quick work of seeing off Whitlock in the afternoon session to reach the last four. MVG rattled off a 12-darter to go 8-2 in front at the interval before a 170 checkout sent him on his way to sealing a 10-5 win.Next up, Anderson produced a crucial break of throw after a 130 checkout stunned Mensur Suljovic. Yet the big Serbian answered back in style by landing double-10 to draw within one leg at 8-7.However, Anderson won the next three legs to book his place in the semi-final.Anderson had performed well, but Gurney was even better en route to beating Peter Wright. SuperChin opened up a 5-0 lead, with a maximum and double-eight part of his run.Wright was stunned but soon pinned double-eight himself to finally get on the board. Snakebite then reeled off four 180s as he stayed in touch at 6-4.However, Gurney is in fine form after winning this year's World Grand Prix title and soon stretched his lead to 9-4. Wright tried to stay in it, but Gurney saw things out.Gurney set up a meeting with debutant Cross, who simply overwhelmed Smith in the afternoon's last quarter-final. Cross was ruthlessly efficient with his checkouts, per PDC Darts:He was also prolific when it came to breaking the ton mark with his scoring, per Live Darts:Semi-FinalsEarlier, Van Gerwen and Anderson put on a show in the evening's first semi-final match. The latter got the crowd energised with a fantastic leg of darts when trailing 6-4:Anderson's nine-darter meant the Australian was due a handsome profit, per Matthew Porter of the PDC:Anderson may have closed the gap to 6-5, but Van Gerwen soon reasserted himself. Mighty Mike won the next two legs in a row, proving efficient on doubles and steady with his checkdowns.Van Gerwen couldn't match Anderson's scoring rate, but he was more consistent at the oche:MVG's relentlessness didn't overwhelm Anderson, though. Instead, the latter battled back brilliantly to eventually push the match to a decider.He'd earned a reprieve, but Anderson let Van Gerwen off the hook when he missed two match darts. MVG made him pay by holding throw to reach the final.Next, it was Cross' turn to continue his remarkable tournament. The 27-year-old had an easier time of things against Gurney than Van Gerwen had experienced against Anderson.Breaking the Gurney throw proved pivotal for Cross:FinalCross refused to be awed by his illustrious opponent once the final got underway. Instead, the PDC newbie played himself into the lead at the first interval, thanks to a superior scoring average:Van Gerwen's response was typically emphatic, as the Dutchman cruised ahead after the break. A 10-darter tied things up for MVG before a 12-dart leg put him in front 4-3.Cross had seen his throw broken but soon returned the favour in style to draw level:It was 5-5 at the next interval, with Cross keeping pace with the defending champion:MVG needed to seize control and did just that after the break to move 7-5 in front. Cross tried to keep it close but wasn't doing enough to attack the Van Gerwen throw.The latter's lead was 9-6 after Cross couldn't complete a 70 checkout after missing double-16. It was the beginning of the end for Cross, as Mighty Mike hit a 130 checkout for a 10th leg before pinning double-16 to take out 48 and officially retain the title.Cross couldn't carry his form from earlier in the day into the final but did himself enormous credit by the way he played this weekend.Ultimately though, Van Gerwen had too much class for the field in Belgium. He has made a habit of winning major titles in front of the television cameras and saved his best darts for the latter stages of this tournament.
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