European Championship: Peter Wright secures title with victory over James Wade in Dortmund
Peter Wright secures the European Championship with an 11-6 victory over James Wade in Dortmund; Next on the Sky Sports Darts calendar is the seventeenth Grand Slam of Darts from November 11 to 19 at Aldersley Leisure Village.
Last updated: 10/29/23 10:32 PM
Peter Wright celebrated his first ranking title on television in almost two years
Peter Wright celebrated his first televised ranking title in almost two years with a convincing 11-6 victory over James Wade in Sunday’s European Championship final.
Wright, who also defeated Wade to capture his first European Championship crown in 2020, repeated the feat in front of a great crowd in Dortmund to take home the £120,000 top prize.
Wright pulled an all-nighter in his Halloween costume in preparation for the final day of the European Championship
The Scottish star has had a tumultuous 2023 season, but after showing glimpses of a return to form in recent weeks, he capped his revival with a 14th televised honor in a packed Westfalenhalle.
“The old man can still do it,” said Wright, who is a multiple European champion along with Van Gerwen, Phil Taylor and Rob Cross.
“I was lucky in my first match against Gabriel Clemens. I pulled out two 180s to get back into the match, but it was just great to play in front of this great crowd this weekend.
“My throwing went completely out of hand the last two games. I didn’t know what I was doing, but luckily I crossed the line.”
Wright earned his place in the final with an 11-8 victory over Danny Noppert, while Wade came from 5-1 down to beat Gian van Veen 11-9 after the promising young Dutchman had knocked out an undersized Michael van Gerwen 10-6. in the quarter-finals earlier in the day to secure the biggest win of his career.
The first big moment of the match came when Wade produced a 157 finish against the throw to level matters, but Wright rattled off five of the next six legs as he stormed to a 6-2 lead.
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Michael Bridge and Mark Webster present their prizes for the 2023 World Grand Prix
Wade, the 2018 European champion, was competing in his first televised ranking final since winning the UK Open in March 2021 after a series of spirited displays in Dortmund.
He fought back to secure two legs on the bounce and go into the second break at 6-4.
But Wright regained his four-legged cushion after the break to take an 8-4 lead when ‘The Machine’ appeared to falter before producing a 14-dart leg to reduce the deficit again.
The Aldershot hurler scored his first maximum of the match in the next leg, but it was not enough to stop ‘Snakebite’ from coming within two of the title.
Wright’s break in the throw in the next leg brought him within a leg of the match and despite missing three championship darts in the doubles, he made no mistake by checking out 96 in the next leg to lift the trophy.
European Championship 2023
Sunday October 29
Afternoon session
Quarterfinals
Peter Wright 10-8 Chris Dobey
Danny Noppert 10-8 Gerwyn Price
James Wade 10-6 Luke Humphries
Gian van Veen 10-6 Michael van Gerwen
Evening session
Semi-finals
Peter Wright 11-8 Danny Noppert
James Wade 11-9 Gian van Veen
Last
Peter Wright11-6James Wade
Watch the seventeenth staging of the Grand Slam of Darts at Aldersley Leisure Village from November 11 to 19. Stream your favorite sports and more with NOW