Emotional Wright wins at last

played 10 won 10 – made him odds-on with the title sponsor to wear the crown a fourth time.

But Wright, riled by MVG’s unrepentant barb that he “bottles it” when the stakes are highest, was having none of it.

After spending two-and-a-half hours in the make-up chair while his wife and artistic director Jo applied the paintwork to his deeppurple mohawk, Wright was two sets to the good before Van Gerwen could blink.

Bottle? Snakebite didn’t need bottle – his finishing was simply class on tap as the surged into a 4-2 lead.

But there are few more frightening sights in sport than Shrek lookalike Van Gerwen beating his chest when he lands a crucial game shot.

For half the contest, every time Wright thought he had released the handbrake and was surging over the horizon, Dutch master MVG glanced across the stage at the trophy and hit back.

Ultimately, the destiny of the trophy and the £500,000 winner’s cheque was decided by Wright’s

Scotsman superior finishing. Van Gerwen was so disorientated that he walked off the stage when he was 6-3 down, mistakenly thinking there was a break.

But the end was not far away, and MVG admitted: “I am disappointed. Everything I missed, every important shot, he took out.

“His finishing was phenomenal, but I can only blame myself.

“I had six darts in the fifth set and if you don’t take chances, you cannot win against a player of Peter’s quality. I will be back stronger next year.”