ST HELENS darter Michael Smith retained his European Darts Trophy crown and added a second European Tour title of the year to his CV as he defeated Michael van Gerwen in Muelheim on Sunday.

Smith found his form on the final day at the RWE Sporthalle, beating Kevin Painter, Mervyn King and Ian White before saving his best for last to see off the world number one in an exhilarating final.

The game was also an exact rematch of the tournament's 2014 final as Smith defeated the Dutchman for a second time and added a third European Tour title to his ever-growing CV.

Having defeated Painter 6-4 earlier in the afternoon, Smith kicked off his evening session with an impressive 6-2 victory over Mervyn King.

Smith started off with a 106 checkout en route to opening up a 4-0 lead at the RWE Sporthalle before King took the next two legs of the match on the spin to close the gap. However, his joy would be short-lived as Smith moved quickly to wrap up the win, finishing in style with a superb 144 checkout.

The Bully Boy, who also won the International Darts Open in Riesa earlier this year, then secured his spot in another European Tour final with an impressive 6-3 win over White.

Smith expertly checked out 136 to move 3-1 in front before White levelled the match in style with an 11-darter having kicked off with successive 180s. The Bully Boy was not to be deterred though as he took three of the final four legs to set up the final showdown with van Gerwen.

And the 24-year-old would produce a quite brilliant display to take the £25,000 top prize as he brushed van Gerwen aside in the final.

In a blistering start, the St Helens ace landed three ton-plus checkouts and two 12-darters in the opening four legs as he raced into a 4-0 lead with van Gerwen averaging an astonishing 116.56 without a leg to his name.

Although the world number one would hit back to register two legs, Smith was too strong and closed out the victory in just 12 minutes, landing double 14 in the final leg.

Van Gerwen had looked in imperious form on the final day, dropping just two legs before the match with Smith as he followed up successive whitewash wins over Jason Lovett and Dave Chisnall with a 6-2 victory against Peter Wright.

Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)Quarter-Finals.

Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-0 Dave Chisnall (9).

Peter Wright (5) 6-5 Terry Jenkins (13).

Michael Smith (2) 6-2 Mervyn King (10).

Ian White (6) 6-4 James Wade (3).

Semi-Finals.

Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-2 Peter Wright (5).

Michael Smith (2) 6-3 Ian White (6).

Final.

Michael Smith (2) 6-2 Michael van Gerwen (1).