Van Gerwen stunned as Snakebite takes title

Peter Wright played the match of his life to claim a first PDC World Darts title, beating nemesis Michael van gerwen 7-3 in a major final at the eighth time of asking.

in a crackerjack match, the best of the tournament, the protagonists spurred each other on. there were 10- and 11- dart finishes, Wright threw 11 180s, Van gerwen 16. Wright averaged 102.79, with a checkout percentage of 53.33.

After a repeat of the 2014 final, won 7-4 by Van gerwen, Snakebite collected the £500,000 prize and was in tears as he hoisted the Sid Waddell trophy aloft at a raucous Alexandra Palace. ‘it doesn’t matter how many times you get beaten. i used to get beaten by Phil taylor, gary Anderson all the time. But i’ve done it,’ he said.

in the final set, he had three darts to finish with a double 10. After missing the first two, and given his previous history at missing finishes against Van gerwen, Wright feared the worst.

‘i couldn’t believe the first two darts didn’t go in. i thought, “Oh, don’t do it again”, because he’s blown me away in the past.’

Playing his fifth final in eight years, four-time champion Van gerwen lacked his trademark fluency and control.

in the build-up, Van gerwen accused Wright of blowing up whenever they meet. But Van gerwen was hit by double trouble.

‘every important shot i missed, he took his out — his finishing was phenomenal. i can only blame myself. i had several chances to go in front, but when you don’t take them against a player like Peter Wright, you’re not going to win, simple as that,’ Van gerwen said.

Wright kept up his streak of winning the opening set in every match this tournament and then went 2-0 up.

Van gerwen woke from his slumber with a 37-dart set in the third. he levelled at two apiece for an unlikely steal.

When Van gerwen’s ability to finish deserted him — the Dutchman missed seven consecutive darts at a double — Wright pounced with a 96 to edge ahead once more. Aided by four consecutive breaks, Wright regained his two-set lead at 4-2.

As the greats do, Van gerwen struck back to take the seventh. But in the midst of an error-strewn fifth leg in the crucial eighth set, Van gerwen squandered the chance to level, missing tops with his final dart. Wright cleared up with a double 16 to go two-up once more and rattled off the final two sets to seal a famous win.