European Darts Trophy: Nathan Aspinall beats Ryan Joyce to win first European Tour title

Aspinall was appearing in only his second European Tour final after being beaten by Michael Smith in the 2023 German Darts Grand Prix.

He earlier hit a stunning 170 checkout in the semi-finals against Gary Anderson to force a deciding leg.

That followed a 6-1 thrashing of world number one Luke Humphries in the quarter-finals and a 6-5 win over Jermaine Wattimena in the third round on Sunday.

Joyce, 39, beat former world champion Rob Cross 6-4 in the third round before a 6-3 win over Scotland’s Cameron Menzies.

He then stunned Van Gerwen 7-5 after the three-time world champion had beaten Gerwyn Price 6-4 in the quarter-finals, despite the Welshman averaging 107.4.

World champion Luke Littler did not enter the event in Gottingen.