Peter Wright secures the European Championship with a 11-6 victory over James
Wade in Dortmund; Next up on the Sky Sports Darts calendar is the seventeenth staging of the Grand Slam of Darts from 11-19 November at the Aldersley Leisure Village
Last Updated: 29/10/23 10:32pm
Peter Wright celebrated his first televised ranking title 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 clinch his maiden European Championship crown in 2020, repeated the feat in front of a terrific crowd in Dortmund to scoop the £120,000 top prize.
Wright went full fright night with his Halloween costume in preparation for finals day at the European Championship
The Scottish star has endured a tumultuous 2023 season, but after showing glimpses of a return to form over recent weeks, he capped off his revival with a 14th televised honour at a packed Westfalenhalle.
“The old guy can still do it,” said Wright, who joins Van Gerwen, Phil Taylor and Rob Cross in becoming a multiple European Champion.
“I was fortunate in my first game against Gabriel Clemens. I pulled out two 180s to get back in the match, but it was just brilliant to play in front of this amazing crowd this weekend.
“My throwing action went totally out the window in the last two matches. I didn’t know what I was doing, but luckily enough I got over the line.”
Wright earned his place in the final with an 11-8 win 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 a below-par 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 things up at one apiece but Wright rattled off five of the next six legs as he stormed into a 6-2 lead.
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Michael Bridge and Mark Webster give out their awards for the 2023 World Grand Prix
Wade, a European Champion in 2018, was appearing in his first televised ranking final since his UK Open triumph in March 2021, following a string of spirited displays in Dortmund.
He fought back to secure two legs on the bounce and head into the second interval at 6-4.
But Wright regained his four-leg cushion after the break to move into an 8-4 lead as ‘The Machine’ looked like he started to falter before producing a 14-dart leg to reduce the deficit slightly again.
The Aldershot thrower smacked in his first maximum of the match in the next leg but it was not enough to stop ‘Snakebite’ from moving to within two of the title.
Wright’s break of throw in the next leg put him to within a leg of the match and despite missing three championship darts at the double, he made no mistake in checking out 96 in the next leg to lift the trophy.
2023 European Championship
Sunday October 29
Afternoon Session
Quarter-Finals
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
Final
Peter Wright 11-6 James Wade
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