Peter Wright wins the German Darts Masters (Picture by Kelly Deckers)

German Darts Masters 2017: Peter Wright destroys Phil Taylor 11-4 in Dusseldorf final

Darts

Sat October 22, 2017 · 7y ago

Peter Wright won his first World Series of Darts title as he trashed Phil Taylor in German Darts Masters final at Dusseldorf's Castello Arena.

The world number three and UK Open champion was beaten by the soon-to-be retiring Taylor in the finals of both the World Matchplay and the Melbourne Darts Masters earlier this year but he got a measure of revenge in emphatic style by storming to an 11-4 triumph.

Snakebite had enjoyed his fair share of fortune to get this far having survived match darts against Dragutin Horvat in Friday's first round and in his quarter-final with Mensur Suljovic on Saturday afternoon.

He followed up that triumph with a dramatic 11-9 triumph over Raymond van Barneveld in the last four before saving his best for Taylor as he posted an average of over 102 to land his 11th PDC title of an outstanding season.

The Scotsman also hit five 180s and nailed 11 of his 19 attempts at doubles, which included one on tops for a match high 116 checkout in the very first leg, and from there he never looked back.

Taylor had looked so impressive during his 10-7 victory over recently-crowned World Grand Prix champion Daryl Gurney in the quarter-finals, averaging just over 100 and hitting 62.5% of his doubles, before a workmanlike performance against James Wade saw him advance 11-7.

But he was out-of-sorts against Wright with an average of just under 94 while he managed just two maximums and a 40% checkout percentage.

Wright is 8/1 fourth favourite with Sky Bet behind Michael van Gerwen (8/11), who pulled out of this event prior to his planned clash with Wade due to injury, Gary Anderson (6/1) and Taylor to win the World Championship.

Before then, there are plenty of big events in a hectic winter schedule including the European Championship, which starts this Thursday, the World Series of Darts Finals in Glasgow and the Grand Slam of Darts.

As well as his defeat to Taylor in Melbourne, Wright has also lost a final to the Power in Japan on this circuit last year while he's been runner-up in both of the World Series of Darts Finals to MVG.

He told the PDC: "It's wonderful and I'm delighted. It means a lot to beat Phil and I've also wanted to win a World Series title so it's a tick in the box. I've learned from the defeats my other finals against Phil and I got lucky today. I've had the advantage of playing many European Tour events and playing three or four times in a day.

"I normally find on these events over long days that I get a second wind, and when you're up on stage and the crowds get behind you it spurs you on and you wake up, and try not to let them down.

"It's very hard and Phil's concentration levels weren't quite as sharp when he got to the final. Phil was tired but he still doesn't give up or hand it to you on a plate, and that's why he's the best in the world.

"To play him, you're still in awe of what he's done and where darts has come to - we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Phil so it's special."

Wright added: "When I changed darts during the game against Mensur, that was a brand new set of darts. They're worth £20,000 now!"

Taylor, who had been aiming to win his ninth World Series title, said: "It's been a long day for me and it was hard for me. I tried my best but Peter's finishing was fantastic and he deserved to win.

"I'm 57 and it's caught up with me now - I can't do three games in one day. It's so difficult now, like a footballer trying to compete against a younger person - you want to do it but you can't. The fans were fantastic all weekend and it was very touching and heart-warming for me. I've loved every minute of it."