Monday 25 June 2018 12:20, UK
Mensur Suljovic secured his first European Tour title of the year with an 8-3 victory over Simon Whitlock in the final of the inaugural Danish Darts Open in Copenhagen.
The reigning Unibet Champions League of Darts champion picked up a second European Tour crown of his career, and a fifth PDC win in total, to cement his place as one of the sport's elite stars.
The first-ever staging of the tournament at the Brondbyhallen saw Whitlock reach his first European Tour final in four years, but Suljovic was the top performer of the weekend, averaging close to 100 in his three Sunday games to pick up the £25,000 prize.
Suljovic eased past Ryan Joyce 6-1 in Saturday evening's second round, before scraping past Darren Webster 6-5 to reach the final session of the weekend.
There the Austrian ace fought his way to a 6-4 win over Peter Wright, and then edged a 7-6 thriller against Adrian Lewis to secure his place in his first ranking final of 2018.
"I am so happy to win this title in front of such an amazing crowd," said Suljovic, whose last European Tour triumph came at the 2016 International Darts Open.
"I am so focused on my game, I work so hard every day to be at my best and it paid off today.
"It is always difficult to win tournaments because everyone plays so brilliantly but now I want to win more titles."
Whitlock was in fine form throughout the weekend as he came close to his first European Tour title since 2012.
The former European Championship winner beat in-form Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena 6-3, before edging past Ricky Evans 6-5 to make the final eight.
The Australian No 1 then defeated Mervyn King 6-4 and Steve West 7-4 to seal his path to a first ranking final of the year.
"It's a shame I came up just short but I'm over the moon to have made the final," said Whitlock.
"Congratulations to Mensur, he was the best player of the weekend - I'm proud of him and I'm proud to have played in such a great tournament in Copenhagen."
