Tuesday 3 April 2018 17:03, UK
Michael van Gerwen captured his first European Darts Open title of 2018 with a thrilling deciding leg victory against Peter Wright.
The Dutchman was expected to have too much for an out-of-form Wright but initially struggled at the Ostermann Arena in Leverkusen, as the Scotsman began the stronger of the two.
Wright, who has suffered three consecutive 7-1 defeats in the Premier League, pounced on missed doubles in the opening leg to find double 17 to break before a stunning 110 finish enabled him to move two clear.
An 80 checkout gave the world number one his first footing in the game, but then he could only watch on as further costly misses allowed Wright two holds and another break to lead 5-1.
An 11-dart leg for Van Gerwen closed the gap to three at 5-2 before he capitalised on some slack tungsten from Wright to rattle off three more legs and level at five-all.
World No 2 Wright then regained his composure and broke back with an excellent 81 checkout to lead 6-5 before another hold with an under-pressure 78 checkout put him on the brink of retaining his European Darts Open title.
Wright agonisingly wired the bullseye to clinch the title, allowing Van Gerwen to close the gap to one with a 13-dart finish.
Van Gerwen then stepped up to land his ninth 180 of the final on the way to a 12-dart leg as he restored parity at seven-all to force a deciding leg.
Throwing for the title, the Dutchman stayed consistent on the trebles as he rounded off the victory on double 16, with Wright requiring the same target, to claim the £25,000 title.
"I love the European Tour tournaments - all the people coming to watch all the time is phenomenal," said Van Gerwen. "I'm just glad to win.
"I played terrible in the first part of the game, I missed lots of doubles and needed to improve. Luckily for me I did exactly that and it was enough to clinch the win.
"I love these titles, the crowd were fantastic and really gave me a lift throughout."
2018 European Darts Open
Sunday March 25
Third Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Alan Norris
Simon Whitlock 6-1 Dave Chisnall
Ron Meulenkamp 6-1 Justin Pipe
Rob Cross 5-6 Richard North
Peter Wright 6-2 John Henderson
Joe Cullen 6-5 Chris Dobey
Mervyn King 6-3 Mensur Suljovic
James Wade 6-4 Michael Smith
Quarter-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 6-1 Simon Whitlock
Ron Meulenkamp 2-6 Richard North
Peter Wright 6-3 Joe Cullen
Mervyn King 4-6 James Wade
Semi-Finals
Michael van Gerwen 7-1 Richard North
Peter Wright 7-4 James Wade
Final
Michael van Gerwen 8-7 Peter Wright
The 2018 Premier League heads to the SSE Arena in Belfast on Thursday, with coverage underway from 7pm on Sky Sports Action. Seven weeks of tungsten action will then continue through to the season's conclusion with the Play-Offs on May 17 at The O2 in London.
Keep up to date with the latest darts news, previews, reports, reaction and expert analysis. Get all the latest at www.skysports.com/darts and join in the conversation @SkySportsDarts- don't forget to use #LoveTheDarts
