The seven-time Premier League champion shook off a sluggish start to the season and lifted Night One with a 6-4 victory over debutant Gian van Veen, closing it out on double 14 after burning four match darts and flirting with another late wobble.
It was not vintage in terms of numbers, but it was unmistakably modern Van Gerwen in terms of outcome: a little messy, occasionally maddening, and still there at the end with the trophy.
The evening was framed by a big statement earlier in the night, when Van Veen stunned Luke Littler 6-4 to end a run of three straight TV defeats to the world number one.
Littler had chances to drag it to a decider, Van Veen missed a couple of match darts himself, but the Dutchman held his nerve to nail double six and announce his Premier League arrival by avenging his World Championship final defeat.
Van Veen then backed it up, edging Jonny Clayton 6-4 in the semi-finals to reach the final on debut night. Clayton kept asking questions, even breaking back late, yet Van Veen served it out with an 11-darter that looked like a young player enjoying the chaos rather than fearing it.
Van Gerwen's route had a more familiar shape.
He recovered from 2-0 down to beat Stephen Bunting 6-2, rattling off six legs on the spin to turn an awkward opener into a comfortable win, before dispatching Luke Humphries 6-2 in the semi-final, finishing with a 114 checkout as Humphries' doubling deserted him at the worst possible time.
The final itself carried the tension of a Dutch derby with the tempo of a scrap. Van Gerwen burst out with a 13-dart break and quickly led 2-0, but Van Veen refused to fold, pinching legs when the opportunities appeared and keeping the gap honest.
There were missed doubles on both sides, a hint of physical discomfort from Van Veen's right arm, and a decisive sequence where Van Gerwen missed three match darts to let the contest drag on.
Van Veen took the reprieve on double 10, but Van Gerwen eventually landed the telling dart at double 14 to seal it.
Afterwards, Van Gerwen framed it as a win built on control rather than sparkle.
"Without playing my A-game, I still won it. I was steady and had some fantastic finishing at the right moments," he told Sky Sports. "I know I can do better but this gives you confidence. Winning games is the best medicine."
Littler stunned early
The night in Newcastle had already tilted on its axis well before MVG lifted the trophy.
The early shock came with Luke Littler exiting at the first hurdle. The world number one was not blown away, but edged out 6-4 by debutant Van Veen, who stayed braver at the key moments and punished Littler's missed chances on the doubles.
Littler still scored heavily and showed flashes of authority, but he never quite imposed control, and his inability to force a deciding leg opened the door to one of the night's defining results.
That defeat reshaped the bracket and briefly shifted the spotlight to Luke Humphries, who came through a breathless quarter-final against Gerwyn Price.
It was tense, scrappy in places and full of missed match darts, but Humphries held his nerve in the final leg, pinning double two to survive.
That resilience, however, ran straight into a resurgent Michael van Gerwen. Van Gerwen's semi-final win over Humphries was built on pressure rather than fireworks, his finishing sharper when it mattered and his intensity rising as Humphries faltered on the outer ring.
Van Gerwen collects five Premier League points and the £10,000 nightly winner's bonus.
The Premier League continues next Thursday in Antwerp, Belgium.