Issue 62 (March 10, 2017)

Friday 10 March 2017

Darts Weekly

Tearful Wright wins first major ANDO’S HOMECOMING

GLAMORGAN’S BIG WIN PRICE DOWNS WHITE

Gary Anderson delights Glasgow Glamorgan boost survival hopes in the Premier Division P6-7 crowd in Premier League P4-5

Relive Gerwyn Price’s stunning UK Open quarter-final win P8

LAWRENCE LUSTIG/PDC

Snakebite ends wait for a televised title with a brilliant triumph in the Coral UK Open in Minehead P2-3

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Friday 10 March 2017 Darts Weekly

Wright has won a major and enters the elite list of players to have done so Dave South DARTS WRITER For those of you that read the February 10 edition of Darts Weekly, you may have seen my article regarding whether Peter Wright will win a major.

Within the article, I wrote: ‘Will he make it third time lucky? The ability of the UK Open is the luck of the draw but, also with Wright pocketing the winner’s prize in the first qualifier beating Adrian Lewis in the final, indications suggest Wright could be a dark horse come the UK Open, where we know anything is possible with the nature of this event.

‘To conclude, I do with the format compared with the other majors, if Wright is to win a PDC major, his best chance in the current environment will be to lift the UK Open. Will it be this year?

Find out in March!’

Wright won the UK Open and was tipped by confidant Carl Redden at 12/1 before the withdrawal of Michael van Gerwen, which saw his tip reduced to just over 5/1 due to bookmakers rule 4 deductions.

Wright won the UK Open with wins over James Richardson, Dave Chisnall, Rob Cross, Raymond van Barneveld, Daryl Gurney and Gerwyn Price en route to the title.

Wright won 62 legs and conceded 33 legs in the process.

With 28 maximums along the way, Wright’s average improved over the weekend, registering his second highest ever TV average in an epic 10-8 victory over van Barneveld in the quarter-finals.

Wright finished with averages of 100.77 and 100.55 in his respective semi-final and final matches to lift the trophy.

Irrespective of the absence of van Gerwen and Phil Taylor, a field of 127 saw Wright battle two top ten opponents on one of the trickiest

Major winner at last: Peter Wright with the UK Open title routes to the final. My congratulations goes to Wright for his resilience, overcoming numerous obstacles in past finals and certainly he went third time lucky in triumphing.

Can Snakebite lift another major despite the absence of MVG? Robert Thornton defied the odds when winning the UK Open in 2012, defeating Phil Taylor 11-5, only to return three years after to defeat van Gerwen in the 2015 World Grand Prix in a nine-set thriller, edging it 5-4.

I felt confident back in January when I wrote the column on Wright, and have confidence he can win another title within the next three years.

At the time of writing, there are

‘Wright overcame numerous obstacles to win his first major title’ no Wright betting specials and he is no better than 9/1 to win the next World Championship, after chalking up at 16/1 before the 2017 William Hill World Championship.

Where next for Wright? With the European Tour season approaching, why not top up the UK Open major with a European Tour title or two?

In addition, in the event Gary Anderson and Wright team up at the World Cup in June, I will look forward to providing a strong case for the pair as winners of this year’s event.

Wright withdrew from the World Cup last year, meaning Thornton took his place in the Scottish team alongside Anderson.

But if he elects to return to the team this year, him and Anderson will be among the favourites to end England’s grip on the World Cup.

My prediction of a Wright/Gurney UK Open final almost came true Dave McNally DARTS WRITER On Thursday night last week I was asked for a prediction for the UK Open. I said Peter Wright would beat Daryl Gurney in the final.

With it not being seeded and not having a clue how the draw would go, I reckon I did a decent job, as they met in the semi-finals and, as we know, Wright won.

So, may I extend my congratulations to Wright for his first televised tournament win at Minehead last weekend, where he claimed the UK Open trophy with a tear in his eye, defeating Welshman Gerwyn Price in the final.

Only those with the hardest of

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Dave South DARTS WRITER The UK Open this year will be without Phil Taylor and we best get used to it.

Casting your eyes back to a previous column regarding Peter Wright, my opinion has not changed and Wright ratified this by topping the UK Open Order of Merit after the six qualifiers.

Before a back injury ruled Michael van Gerwen out of last night’s Premier League fixture in Exeter, and put his chances of playing in Minehead this weekend in doubt, MVG was short at 4/6 to retain his title.

Gary Anderson was at 7/1 and Peter Wright was at 14/1, with the

hearts, and most cynical, would deny Wright the title, despite the withdrawal of world number one Michael van Gerwen.

Whether the Dutchman would have won the crown we will never know, but it just seemed from the off that it was going to be Wright’s weekend.

The Minehead showcase was one of the most exciting tournaments in recent memory, with the quarter-finals being particularly impressive, before the rumour mill went into overdrive as cryptic clues from Raymond van Barneveld were deciphered into meaning that he is packing it all in.

Despite committing only a few weeks ago to be playing in every tournament possible this year, so who knows? Will he bow out with his arch nemesis Phil Taylor?

It was great to see Paul Hogan go on a good run and prove what a great player he is.

In fact, he should have made a name for himself at the BDO World Championship by knocking

out the eventual champion Glen Durrant, but a total collapse when in control cost him the headlines then, but he certainly grabbed a few at the weekend.

Knocking out Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson was certainly a time for Hogan to celebrate and lay down the ghost that has been haunting him since that loss at the Lakeside.

‘It was great to see Paul Hogan go on a good run and prove what a player he is’ On to another matter and there is one thing that has been slightly annoying me for a while now and it’s that of losing averages.

They are often blown out of proportions to spin some hyperbole on certain matches which are played.

I have heard commentators and seen social media accounts talking about a certain player losing

despite a 100 average.

There’s no mention of the fact that the player only won three legs, so it creates a false ‘great performance’.

I suggest that averages should be took with a pinch of salt and maybe only the winning player’s three dart average score is recorded for the records.

On to ITV, as always they did a good job with the coverage, but I can’t help thinking that they could have thought through a bit more the matches that they showed on the stage, as some of them were real mismatches.

You felt that they were just putting on the ‘big names’ to try and protect viewing figures.

I think it would have been more interesting to put a few more of the closely matched, up and coming players onto the stage to give a bit more exposure to those just bubbling under the TV regulars.

As it was, we were still treated to a fantastic weekend of darts and it’s onto the next one now.

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Friday 10 March 2017 Darts Weekly

Wright moves top of Premier League as Anderson delights Glasgow crowd at the Hydro Gary Anderson and Peter Wright thrilled a capacity crowd at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow with victories as the Betway Premier League visited Scotland last night.

A capacity 10,000 crowd in Glasgow were treated to a superb display as Anderson kick-started his Premier League campaign with a second victory of the season.

The world number two was in scintillating form as he stormed into a 5-0 lead, opening with a 13darter, taking the third leg with a 147 checkout and the fifth with a bullseye to complete an 88 combination after Chisnall had opened the leg with two 180s.

The 2015 semi-finalist responded with three legs as he pulled back to 5-3, but the Scot hit double six to regain breathing space and double one to secure the points.

“This was a really special night for me,” said Anderson, who moves up to third in the table.

“There was a mixture of nerves and excitement - it’s great to be back in Scotland and get the win.

Happy homecoming: Gary Anderson won in Glasgow in the Premier League last night “Dave’s a cracking player and I knew he would come back at me, so I’m happy that I managed to get it finished off.

“It’s not been brilliant so far this season so it’s nice to go out there and get a win.”

“It’s not been brilliant so far this season so it’s nice to get a win” Scottish-born Wright, meanwhile, moved a point clear at the top of the table as he held off James Wade’s challenge to take a 7-5 win from their clash.

Wright claimed his fourth win of the season to follow up last weekend’s UK Open triumph and a huge 119.50 average against Adrian Lewis in the Premier League in Exeter.

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Wright did the damage early on as he raced into a 5-1 lead, hitting a key 115 finish in the process, with the left-hander taking out 100 and a 13-darter as he pulled back to 54.

Wright secured a point with double two - after starting the tenth leg with two 180s in six perfect darts - with Wade taking out 76 to force a decider which the world number three won on double 16.

“The crowd helped me out - the reception was fantastic and it felt great,” said Wright.

“James should have won the game if he’d hit his doubles but I managed to get the two points.

“I can play way better than that, but it’s a win and that’s all that counts and I can get back on the practice board for next week.”

Michael van Gerwen made his return from the back injury which forced him to miss night five in Exeter and the UK Open with a 7-5 comeback win over Belgium’s Kim Huybrechts, who remains joint

Darts Weekly Friday 10 March 2017

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x x x x x x xx x x x x x x x x

bottom of the table.

A high-quality opening saw Huybrechts score 171 on his way to the opening leg and van Gerwen responded with a 109 checkout in the second, before claiming the first break of throw to lead 4-3.

Huybrechts, though, hit back with a 76 finish and took out 96 for a 5-4 cushion, only for the reigning champion to level, punish four misses from the Belgian with an 80 checkout to lead 6-5 and then take out a 14-darter to seal the win.

“I feel good and it was great to be back tonight,” said van Gerwen.

“It’s always nice to get the two points and Kim played well, but you have to take advantage if he misses and I did that.

“It’s another two points for me and the crowd were nice, but next week in Rotterdam will be very special for me too.”

The Premier League returns to the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam for the second year next week, with van Gerwen’s clash against Phil Taylor topping the bill.

Comeback win for Barney helps him to ignite his 2017 campaign Raymond van Barneveld ignited his Betway Premier League season with a brilliant comeback from 4-1 down to defeat Jelle Klaasen 7-5.

Klaasen had opened with an 11darter and also took out 111 to break throw on his way to a 4-1 cushion - despite a 104 finish from his rival - but two misses at double 12 in leg six allowed van Barneveld in for a sublime 154 checkout to turn the match.

The 2014 Premier League champion then won the next four legs, taking out 106 for a third tonplus checkout, as he sealed a minimum of a point.

Klaasen landed double ten to force a decider, but tops secured both points for van Barneveld as Big win: Raymond van Barneveld came back from 4-1 down to win 7-5 last night

How they stand P W D L LD Pts P Wright 6 4 1 1 +8 9 M van Gerwen 5 3 2 0 +9 8 G Anderson 6 2 3 1 +6 7 P Taylor 6 2 3 1 +4 7 J Wade 6 2 2 2 +1 6 R van Barneveld 6 2 2 2 -4 6 D Chisnall 7 3 0 4 -7 6 A Lewis 6 2 1 3 -2 5 K Huybrechts 6 0 3 3 -7 3 J Klaasen 6 1 1 4 3 -8 4 4 4 4 Remaining fixtures Thursday, March 164 (Ahoy Rotterdam, Rotterdam); March 23 (Manchester Arena, Manchester); March 30 (Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Cardiff); April 6 (3Arena, Dublin); April 13 (Echo Arena Liverpool, Liverpool); April 20 (SSE Arena Belfast, Belfast); April 27 (Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham); May 4 (Sheffield Arena, Sheffield); May 11 (GE Oil and Gas Arena, Aberdeen); May 18 Play-Offs (The O2, London).

Tournament statistics Highest tournament average - M van Gerwen (105.39) Highest checkout - A Lewis and M van Gerwen (170) Legs won against the throw - G Anderson and P Taylor (13) Highest checkout percentage - A Lewis (41.33%)

he moved three points clear of his rival.

“Tonight I went out to enjoy it and the crowds are amazing in Scotland,” said van Barneveld.

“I’m more relaxed and want to enjoy myself, and I’m thinking in a positive way.

“The 154 was so important and it changed the game. Jelle was under pressure then and he started missing doubles, and he let me in.”

Two-time world champion Adrian Lewis claimed his second victory of the season with a 7-4 defeat of Stoke rival Phil Taylor, who suffered his first loss of the campaign.

The pair shared the opening six legs before Lewis produced a burst of five 180s in as many legs as he pulled away for the win, punishing Taylor’s missed two doubles to move clear of the six-time Premier League champion.

Lewis remains just a place above the bottom two, but has opened up a two point gap over his rivals.

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Friday 10 March 2017 Darts Weekly

Glamorgan boost survival hopes with comeback win COUNTY ROUND-UP Glamorgan gave their hopes of avoiding relegation in the British Inter-County Championships Premier Division a real boost, after coming from behind to beat Warwickshire 20-16.

The Welsh hosts made a fine start, winning the women’s B fixtures 5-1, before Warwickshire fought back to claim the men’s B matches 9-3 to go 10-8 up.

After dropping the first game of the women’s A fixtures, Glamorgan reeled off the next five games to edge in front 13-11.

The Premier Division clash continued to swing back and forth, as England international Jamie Hughes helped the visitors win all of the opening three men’s A fixtures to put them 14-13 up.

But an inspired run of six wins in a row turned the match around for the home side, as Glamorgan took an unassailable 19-14 lead.

Nigel Heydon (30.48) put in a man-of-the-match performance for

Warwickshire to reduce the deficit to 19-16, before Clive Langford won the last game for the hosts to seal a 20-16 victory.

The win for second bottom Glamorgan helped them move to within just three points of eighth place, which is now occupied by Devon, who were beaten 23-13 by title hopefuls Lancashire at the weekend.

It was a dominant performance from the second place side, who wrapped up victory with five games to spare.

David Airey (31.89) and Dave Adshead (30.86) were the most impressive performers for Lancashire, who, despite this win, still trail runaway leaders Yorkshire by 30 points.

Defending champions Yorkshire matched their nearest title rivals with a 23-13 victory of their own, as they ran out comfortable winners at Cheshire.

Yorkshire held a narrow 10-8 lead overnight before cruising to victory on the final day, winning

Away defeat: Jamie Hughes and his Warwickshire side were beaten by Glamorgan

Shepherd bt M Barilli 6-3; W Jones bt T Jenkins 6-2; M Webster bt S Bunting 6-2; A Roy bt D Parletti 6-4; J Clayton bt M Frost 63; M McGowan bt D Reynolds 6-4; D van Duijvenbode bt S Kellett 6-4; P Barham bt S Taylor 6-5; R Meulenkamp bt L Evans 6-4; R Hewson bt J Dekker 6-5; M Dennant bt Z Lerchbacher 6-4; A Tabern bt J Carroll 6-3; Y Meeuwisse bt J Worsley 6-4; J Pipe bt R Meikle 6-0; W O’Connor bt S Lennon 6-2; M Lukeman bt M Padgett 6-5; J Michael bt P Hudson 6-5; J Richardson bt N Smith 6-1; A Gilding bt R Murray 6-4; R Baxter bt R North 6-3; R Thornton bt K Bambrick 6-0; B Bates bt J de Graaf 6-3; J Haines bt D Johnson 6-3.

Third round - W O’Connor bt M Todd 10-3; A Norris bt Y Meeuwisse 10-2; K Huybrechts bt B Woods 10-8; M Webster bt R Twell 10-9; J Wattimena bt K Anderson 10-7; C Dobey bt K Painter 10-8; D Gurney bt A Roy 10-2; M Lukeman bt R Hewson 10-9; P Hogan bt G Anderson 10-9; G Price bt J Pipe 10-5; V van der Voort bt R Huybrechts 10-4; K Shepherd bt W Jones 10-8; R Meulenkamp bt R Evans 10-7; D van Duijvenbode bt C Kist 10-5; M Smith bt J Henderson 10-4; R van Barneveld bt B Bates 10-6; R Baxter bt D Webster 10-8; P Wright bt J Richardson 10-3; A Tabern bt M King 10-7; J Cullen bt R Thornton 10-2; D

Chisnall bt J Caven 10-4; S Whitlock bt C Quantock 10-2; J Klaasen bt J Clayton 10-7; J Michel bt B Dolan 10-9; B van de Pas bt M Dennant 10-6; R Searle bt M McGowan 10-7; D Pallett bt S Beaton 10-6; T Evetts bt A Gilding 10-5; A Lewis bt J Wade 10-8; I White bt P Barham 10-2; R Cross bt J Haines 10-5; C Reyes w/o M van Gerwen (withdrew).

Fourth round - A Norris bt B van de Pas 10-5; V van der Voort bt J Klaasen 10-9; P Wright bt D Chisnall 10-5; M Lukeman bt C Dobey 10-5; G Price bt D Pallett 10-4; K Huybrechts bt T Evetts 10-1; R van Barneveld bt R Meulenkamp 10-3; A Tabern bt J Michael 10-6; S Whitlock bt D van Duijvenbode 10-6; R Cross bt R Searle 10-5; P Hogan bt A Lewis 10-6; M Smith bt J Wattimena 10-8; J Cullen bt C Reyes 10-5; W O’Connor bt R Baxter 10-6; D Gurney bt M Webster 10-3; I White bt K Shepherd 10-7.

Fifth round - G Price (101.26) bt P Hogan (99.60) 10-6; R van Barneveld (96.52) bt A Tabern (88.28) 10-7; I White (91.22) bt M Lukeman (86.89) 10-3; A Norris (94.89) bt M Smith (93.26) 10-6; K Huybrechts (97.14) bt J Cullen (96.42) 10-9; S Whitlock (94.80) bt W O’Connor (93.70) 10-7; D Gurney (92.07) bt V van der Voort (94.51) 10-5; P Wright (101.33) bt R Cross (99.11) 10-6.

the women’s A fixtures 5-1 and the men’s A fixtures 8-4.

Captain Brian Dawson (30.18) was the man-of-the-match for Yorkshire, while there were also wins for Lorraine Winstanley and Beau Greaves too.

Cambridgeshire moved above Cheshire into third place after edging past basement side Essex in a tight contest, 19-17.

Essex got off to a strong start as they opened up an 11-7 lead overnight, before Cambridgeshire battled back to level the match up at 12-12 heading into the men’s A fixtures.

And it was Martin Adams (30.23) who inspired Cambridgeshire to win the men’s A fixtures 7-5 to seal a comeback 19-17 victory.

In the other Premier Division tie, Nottinghamshire climbed two places to sixth after a 19-17 win away at Lincolnshire.

Database PDC CORAL UK OPEN (Butlin’s Minehead) First round - R Murray bt J Ferrell 6-5; J Haines bt W Morris 6-0; R Hewson bt R Edhouse 6-4; P Hogan bt K Brown 6-3; M Frost bt J Bain 6-4; J Carroll bt B Walsh 6-3; D Johnson bt J de Zwaan 6-5; J Richardson bt A Alcinas 6-4; Y Meeuwisse bt M Biggs 64; T Newell bt M Layton 6-4; R Baxter bt P Rowley 6-5; J Wattimena bt K Fan Leung 6-1; B Green bt D Pilgrim 6-4; D Reynolds bt A Roberts 6-2; B Woods bt D Smith 6-3; R Meikle bt V Kamphuis 6-3; A Tabern bt S Robertson 6-4; J Caven bt D Read 6-3; J Davis bt P Harvey 6-2; W Jones bt L Bryant 6-5; P Barham bt B Claydon 6-4; A Roy bt K Edwards 6-1; J Wilson bt G Eastwood 6-4; R Meulenkamp bt R Lam 6-1; P Milford bt B Dawson 6-3; M Padgett bt P Cartwright 6-2; J Clayton bt J McKirdy 6-1; K Bambrick bt N Bell 6-5; L Evans bt A Davidson 6-5; J Worsley bt D Prins 6-4; N Smith bt S Maish 6-4; D Parletti bt G Pass 6-2. Second round - P Hogan bt J Lewis 6-4; D Gurney bt R Palmer 6-3; J Wattimena bt D Petersen 6-2; T Evetts bt P Milford 6-3; B Woods bt T Newell 6-4; J Caven bt B Green 6-0; V van der Voort bt J Wilson 6-5; D Pallett bt A Jenkins 6-4; R Twell bt J Davis 6-4; K

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Quarter-finals - A Norris (97.78) bt K Huybrechts (98.94) 10-9; G Price (97.18) bt I White (103.09) 10-9; D Gurney (102.03) bt S Whitlock (96.37) 10-9; P Wright (110.88) bt R van Barneveld (108.10) 10-8. Semi-finals - P Wright (100.77) bt D Gurney (98.89) 11-5; G Price (95.97) bt A Norris (93.25) 11-9.

Final - P Wright (100.55) bt G Price (97.78) 11-6.

BDO BRITISH INTER-COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS (Various venues) Premier Division - Cambridgeshire (22pts) bt Essex (17pts) 19-17; Cheshire (13pts) lost to Yorkshire (26pts) 23-13; Glamorgan (23pts) bt Warwickshire (16pts) 20-16; Lancashire (26pts) bt Devon (13pts) 23-13; Lincolnshire (17pts) lost to Nottinghamshire (22pts) 19-17.

Premier Division table (top half) Pos 1. Yorkshire 2. Lancashire 3. Cambridgeshire 4. Cheshire 5. Warwickshire

P 7 7 7 7 7

Pts 192 162 139 133 130

BETWAY PREMIER LEAGUE (The SSE Hydro, Glasgow) Week Six - A Lewis (98.71) bt P Taylor (96.82) 7-4; P Wright (95.42) bt J Wade (94.52) 7-5; M van Gerwen (106.30) bt K Huybrechts (101.72) 7-5; R van Barneveld (96.46) bt J Klaasen (95.42) 7-5; G Anderson (101.71) bt D Chisnall (92.67) 7-3.

Highest checkout - R van Barneveld (154).

Most 180s - Adrian Lewis (7). Night’s 180s - 37.

FIXTURES TODAY ET1 UK QUALIFIER (Barnsley) TODAY - SUNDAY POKERSTARS ISLEOF MAN FESTIVAL (Douglas, Isle of Man) GREATER VANCOUVER OPEN (Canada) TOMORROW - SUNDAY PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP 3 & 4 (Barnsley) SUNDAY - MARCH 19 TORREMOLINOS FESTIVAL OF DARTS (Sol Principe Hotel) THURSDAY BETWAY PREMIER LEAGUE WEEK SEVEN (Ahoy Arena, Rotterdam)

DARTS WEEKLY DOZEN (06/03/2017) Data compiled by Christopher Kempf Player M van Gerwen P Taylor R van Barneveld D Gurney M Suljovic B van de Pas A Norris S Whitlock J Klaasen S Beaton M King J Cullen

LLE 15.016 16.817 16.857 17.128 17.302 17.857 17.937 18.004 18.028 18.216 18.728 18.739

Change N/C -0.040 -0.063 0.568 N/C 0.109 0.295 -0.280 -0.139 N/C N/C 0.105

◊ The Darts Weekly Dozen estimates and compares the length of the average leg over players’ last 180 stage legs. ◊ Breakout weekend for Gurney, who surges to fourth position thanks to huge increases in accuracy on the trebles. ◊ Norris jumps from 10th to seventh place, scoring estimates plunge from 10.86 darts to a finish to 10.41. ◊ Shaky scoring from Whitlock in loss to Gurney as he is unable to maintain the excellent form displayed late last year.

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Friday 10 March 2017 Darts Weekly

CHRISTOPHER KEMPF MATCH OF THE WEEK - GERWYN PRICE 10-9 IAN WHITE (CORAL UK OPEN)

Price hits miracle 160 finish to crush White There are probably a lot of things you won’t remember from the Ian White - Gerwyn Price quarter-final encounter in Minehead, for you have good reasons not to remember them.

You won’t remember, for instance, how spectacularly well Ian White played.

His 103.09 average was his second highest seen on television, and throughout the match his scoring kept pushing him closer and closer to 110.

White reached a finish in nine darts or fewer in 12 of his 19 legs, a pace which would challenge the world’s best players to keep up.

You won’t remember that in spite of White’s astronomical average, the match saw only two breaks of throw before the last-leg decider.

In the first 18 legs, both Price and White only twice had opportunities to sink a double, break the opponent’s throw and shift the momentum of the match.

Each player managed to win against the throw just once, and moreover both breaks were only made possible by two of the players’ three worst scoring performances.

By producing so many 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 dart legs on their own throw, White and Price played an impeccable defensive game.

Until the final few legs, both players pushed their averages

higher and higher, struggling in vain to find that extra treble which could make a break of throw possible.

You won’t remember that the drama of the last-leg decider was made possible by a nervy penultimate leg from White, who had nine darts from 180 to win the match, but failed even to get a dart at a double.

Three of his five darts at treble 20 landed in the flanking single one and five beds, and with 70 remaining, a dart at treble 18 found the single four bed.

Then, a serious blunder - aiming for treble 16 with his second dart rather than the big 16 to leave the bull - left the Englishman with one option: score 18 to leave tops

and hope to come back to the board if Price could not check out.

Price himself was forced to recover from watching his dart at bull clatter off the wire, and used all three darts to clean up the remaining 50 points, but forced the decider in the end.

You will, however, remember these three things. You will remember the maximum White threw in the deciding leg, his sixth of the match, to reach double 10 before Price could even get to a finish.

You will remember White’s last dart of the match, and his very next one after the 180, an arrow slashed at a steep angle into the top of the double 15 bed that bust his score like a dagger to the heart.

And you will remember Price’s largest televised finish to date, a 160 checkout that won the match, lifted the roof off Butlin’s and blasted it into the stratosphere.

As a last-leg conclusion to a match, it is almost unparalleled in darts history for its intense drama and shocking reversals of fortune.

Even if you only remember

one leg, three visits, three darts, or even the look on Gerwyn Price’s face from this great match, it will have been worth remembering.

‘As a last-leg conclusion to a match, it is almost unparalleled in darts history for its intense drama and shocking reversals of fortune’ LAWRENCE LUSTIG/PDC