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Michael van Gerwen celebrates his Grand Slam of Darts victory (Picture: Lawrence Lustig/PDC)

Grand Slam of Darts: Michael van Gerwen wins his third title after beating Peter Wright and Phil Taylor on finals day

Darts

Fri November 24, 2017 · 7y ago

Michael van Gerwen claimed a third successive Grand Slam of Darts title as he produced a "little turbo" to defeat Peter Wright 16-12 in Wolverhampton.

After ending Phil Taylor’s dream of winning a seventh and final crown here with a commanding 16-8 victory earlier in the day, the world number one needed a late burst of pure quality to see off the challenge of Snakebite in a hard-fought encounter and collect the £112,500 winner's cheque.

Wright had enjoyed one of the finest comebacks in televised darts when winning eight of the last nine legs to defeat Gary Anderson 16-15 in the semi-finals (more details below), and he looked on course to run MVG close when clinical finishing of almost 60% success rate helped him come from 3-2 down to lead 8-7 by the second interval.

The next five legs went with the throw as van Gerwen pulled the game all-square at 10-10, although that run of play included two stunning checkouts of 156 and 149 from the Scotsman.

MVG promptly found an extra gear as he first punished Wright for two missed dart at a double to break with a 14-darter before landing back-to-back checkouts of 146 and 100 to open up a 13-10 lead.

The world number two's fourth 180 of the match helped him get a break back in the next but he then missed an attempt at double 18 as MVG made him pay to restore his three-leg advantage at 14-11.

Wright hit two maximums in the 26th leg as he broke van Gerwen's throw – albeit on double one after four previous spurned attempts to finish - but MVG responded by taking the next to as he reigned supreme once more.

The Dutchman, who survived six match darts from Wright in the Premier League Darts final back in May, has never lost to the UK Open champion in a major televised competition and this latest triumph - as well as the victory over Taylor - will fill him with even more confidence ahead of his title defence at the World Championship, which he is Sky Bet's favourite at 8/11 to win.

Having endured three big disappointments this year at the World Matchplay, Champions League of Darts and World Grand Prix, he's now collected three televised trophies in a row - the European Championship, World Series of Darts Finals and now the Grand Slam - while he's also won his last 22 competitive matches dating back to his shock defeat to John Henderson in Dublin back in October.

His immediate focus will be next weekend’s ITV4-televised Players Championship Finals before his preparations begin in earnest for the Alexandra Palace, where the action all begins on December 14.

Wright, who has won 11 PDC titles in 2017, is 8/1 third favourite to land his first world title behind 11/2 shot Anderson while Taylor is 9/1 for fairytale glory his final tournament before retirement.

Scroll down for final statistics, reaction & semi-final review

Michael van Gerwen is #GSOD champion for the third year in a row! 🏆

Six matches, six 100+ averages, 34 180s, over 50% finishing & 12 100+ checkouts 💪🎯👏https://t.co/eWawDrUecE
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) November 19, 2017

Van Gerwen, who has now won 18 matches in a row on this stage, averaged over 100 in all six games this week and finished with 35 180s - more than anyone else - and a finishing percentage of over 50% and 12 ton+ checkouts.

He told www.pdc.tv: "To win a tournaments like this is always nice, especially in a game like that. It was a final and there was pressure on us. You want to perform at as high a level as possible and I think I had a fantastic tournament. After 10-10 I had a little turbo, but maybe we were trying too hard and we didn't want to lose to each other. Sooner or later Peter will stop me in a final but I'm over the moon that I won.

"I feel great and winning a tournament like this is always nice, good for your confidence and I think I also deserved it with the way I played, the average I threw, the 180s and the good scores. I'm glad I won another trophy. When you have a period like this it's good for you and for your confidence, especially for the World Championship which is coming up.

"I'll have a rest now because next week is the Players Championship Finals and I want to win that too."

Van Gerwen was joined on stage by baby daughter Zoe as he celebrated the win, and he admitted: "Winning tournaments is nice, trying to be the best in the world is nice but nothing beats this."

Wright said: "I'm gutted. I had my chance and didn't take it, and that's why he is number one in the world. Neither of us played our top game in the final and I was struggling throughout the match, but the best player won on the day. I had plenty of chances and didn't play well in the final.

"I struggled through the whole game, I wasn't good enough and I'm disappointed with the way I played - but I got to the final. I played some really nice games this week, and I can take positives from this."

Final statistics

SCORING:
Three-dart averages
Van Gerwen: 102.18
Wright: 97.71

100+ thrown
Van Gerwen: 38
Wright: 38

140+ thrown
Van Gerwen: 12
Wright: 19

180+ thrown
Van Gerwen: 7
Wright: 6

CHECKOUTS
100+ checkouts
Van Gerwen: 146, 114, 100 x 2
Wright: 156, 149, 120

Checkout percentage
Van Gerwen: 51.61% (16/31)
Wright: 48% (12/25)

Scroll down for semi-final round-up

Peter Wright: The Grand Slam of Darts runner-up (Picture: Lawrence Lustig)

Semi-final round-up

Peter Wright produced one of the finest comebacks in televised darts as he won eight of the last nine legs to beat Gary Anderson 16-15 and reach his first Grand Slam of Darts final.

Snakebite had lost six of their seven meetings in 2017, including the most recent battle at the Champions League of Darts, and it looked like a very familiar story in this rivalry was being repeated when the two-time world champion stormed from 7-6 up to the brink of victory at 14-8 thanks to consistent heavier scoring and clinical finishing, which included two checkouts from 119 and 110.

Out of nowhere, despite seemingly chasing a lost cause, Wright went on a stunning run of form and after Anderson recovered momentarily from his collapse to go 15-13 ahead, the world number two twice took out 81 for back-to-back 11-darters to force a decider.

Wright left himself with 64 after four solid visits and with Anderson, who missed a match dart in the previous leg, waiting on 82, he held his nerve to hit two single 16s and then the double to complete a remarkable comeback. It was the first time he was ever ahead in the match.

Peter Wright trailed 14-8 but won eight out of the last nine legs to beat Gary Anderson 16-15 and reach the #GSOD final! 🎯👏

It was the first time Snakebite led in the match! 🐍

pic.twitter.com/IzSoMi0VlH
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) November 19, 2017

The UK Open champion will now attempt to deny Michael van Gerwen a third successive Grand Slam of Darts crown after the Dutchman ended Phil Taylor's dream of a seventh Wolverhampton title before his retirement at the end of the season with a 16-8 victory.

The Power led very early but van Gerwen took out 117 and 106 before coming from 3-2 down to win four successive legs to open up a 6-3 advantage

MVG landed a brilliant 164 checkout on the bullseye en route to a 9-5 lead although Taylor showed signs of a recovery when taking out 97 to reduce the deficit to 10-7 while a 13-darter two legs later kept him in touch at 11-8.

That's as close as the 57-year-old came as the world number one took the next four legs, including a brace of 74 finishes, to march into the final and gain a measure of revenge for the two major defeats he suffered to Taylor at the World Matchplay and Champions League of Darts.