Michael van Gerwen defeated Josh Rock in the Final of Players Championship 7 to win the first title in 2023

Michael van Gerwen took home the £12,000 grand prize as he won his first Players Championship since April last year; The Dutchman defeated reigning World Youth Champion Josh Roque 8-4 in the final

Michael van Gerwen captured his first title of 2023 by defeating Josh Rock 8-4 in the final of the 7 Players Championship on Sunday in Hildesheim.

World number 3 Van Gerwen kicked off the ProTour doubleheader in Germany by clinching the £12,000 grand prize to win his first Players Championship since April last year.

Other than the UK Open two weeks ago, where Van Gerwen finished runner-up, he has not advanced past the quarter-finals in a ranking event this year.

The 33-year-old – winner of three Kazuo Premier League nights so far in 2023 – defeated the World Youth Rock Champion in the final to claim his first victory of the year.

“I had to work really hard,” Van Gerwen admitted. “I have six gears but I won it in fourth gear today.

“I wasn’t playing well most of the day, but the games I had to play well – to beat Dirk [van Duijvenbode 6-4] In the quarter finals I played really well there, and against Josh in the final – I did.

“It gives you confidence and gives you joy but I wasn’t great today. Of course I want to play better but I used to do it whenever I had to.”

Josh Rock defeated Premier League star Dimitri van den Berg and Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively.

Van Gerwen edged out Jacques Labre, Keegan Brown, Martin Luckemann and Boris Krakmar with the loss of only seven legs to book his place in the quarter-finals.

There, he ran his highest average of the day at 104.95 in an impressive 6-4 victory over Dutch rival Van Duigvenbode, before edging out former world youth champion Bradley Brooks by two legs in the semi-finals.

In the final, youth champions Roc took the first leg before van Gerwen won five of the next six to take a 5–2 lead.

Rock cut the gap to 5-4, but legs of 11 and 12 dart from the Dutchman pushed him further to 7-4 before he sealed the title.

Van Gerwen added: “It’s long days, very long days. At this point in my life I want to win every tournament I compete in and it gets harder.

“If you look at the floor tournaments nowadays, there are no easy matches anymore, so I have to fight for every match, but overall I’m happy with my win and that’s really important.

“A lot has changed, everyone can play 100 on average – that’s how good the tour is at the moment – that’s why you need to focus.”

It was Rock’s best performance in a ranking event this year too by reaching the final, as the Northern Irishman looked to emulate their win at the 2022 Players Championship 28.

The youngster produced averages of over three tons per day – against Luke Woodhouse, Brendan Dolan and Mario Vandenbogerde – and beat Premier League star Dimitri van den Bergh and Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.