Peter Wright secured his second UK Open qualifying title of the weekend after surviving two missed match darts from Michael Smith in a thrilling final at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan on Sunday afternoon.
Wright prevailed in Friday’s opening qualifier by beating Adrian Lewis in the final, and the world number three repeated the feat against Smith 48 hours later to scoop the £10,000 winner’s cheque and complete the weekend’s triple-header in style.
The opening two legs of the final went against throw, before Smith held throw on D2 after Wright spurned four darts at double for the third successive break of throw. However, the Scot responded strongly by following up a maximum with a clinical 68 checkout to draw level.
‘Bully-Boy’ regained the lead moments later however; following up a timely maximum with an accomplished 93 finish. He came agonisingly close to extending his advantage in the sixth leg, after missing the bullseye for a 170 kill, but Wright levelled up proceedings with a nerveless 71 checkout.
The high-quality standard continued, as Smith kicked off the seventh leg with back-to-back maximums to set up a nine-dart opportunity. The perfect leg wasn’t forthcoming, but the St Helen’s star dispatched a 76 checkout with consummate ease for a fine 12-dart hold.
Wright appeared poised to hold after firing in another maximum, but he then spurned three darts at D8 to hold. This error was ruthlessly punished by Smith, who converted a clinical 65 outshot via D4 to break and move to within a leg of victory.
Nevertheless, ‘Snakebite’ fought back impressively. He kicked off the ninth leg with back-to-back maximums of his own, before rounding-off an 11-darter on tops to stay alive. The Scot bust an 81 finish for a potential 12-darter moments later, but this didn’t prove costly as he returned to complete the finish on the bullseye to force a dramatic last-leg decider.
Smith had the advantage of throw and controlled the leg from the outset. However, Wright came extremely close to prevailing in spectacular style; wiring the bull for a 161 match-winning salvo. Yet Smith failed to capitalise, missing two match darts at tops, as the world number three returned to peg D8 and secure his second title of the weekend.
Earlier in the day, Wright kicked off his campaign with successive 6-2 victories over Stuart Dutton and Lee Bryant respectively, before he eased into the fifth-round after beating Kim Huybrechts’ conqueror Paul Harvey by the same scoreline.
Snakebite then thrashed former Lakeside world champion Stephen Bunting 6-1 to set up a quarter-final clash with world number one Michael van Gerwen. ‘Mighty Mike’ had suffered shock early exits in the previous two qualifiers, but was unable to rectify matters as Wright secured his first win over MvG in seventeen attempts to reach the last four.
In the semi-finals, the world number three faced Mick Todd, who performed magnificently to reach his first ever Pro Tour semi-final. Todd failed to secure a PDC Tour Card at Q-School last month, but produced a series of fine displays to confirm his spot at next month’s UK Open Finals in Minehead.
Todd defeated Callum Loose, Mark Dudbridge, Darren Johnson, Joe Davis, Stuart Kellett and Alan Norris to reach the last four, but his incredible assault for a maiden PDC Pro Tour ranking title was ended mercilessly by Wright, who prevailed by a 6-2 scoreline to reach his second final within three days.
Elsewhere, Michael Smith overcame a host of established stars to reach his first PDC ranking final since June 2016. ‘Bully-Boy’ edged out former Players Championship Finals winner Paul Nicholson 6-4 in the opening round, before defeating Scotland’s Jamie Bain by the same scoreline to reach round-four.
The St Helen’s star then claimed the scalps of Premier League duo Adrian Lewis and James Wade, before easing past Cristo Reyes 6-2 to set up a semi-final clash with Ian White. ‘The Diamond’ had survived a last-leg decider against young German Martin Schindler earlier in the day, before he defeated Ted Evetts and Steve Beaton to reach the last eight.
White then overcame Mervyn King in the quarter-finals, with ‘The King’ seemingly suffering a recurrence of his long-standing back problem. However, White was unable to overcome Smith in the last four, as the former World-Youth champion recorded his third straight win over the Stoke star with a nerve-jangling deciding leg win.
Robert Thornton’s struggles continue. ‘The Thorn’ was beaten in the last 256 by former World-Youth champion Keegan Brown, and the Scot currently sits outside the UK Open qualification spots, having accrued just £250 in prize money throughout the opening three qualifiers.
Seven-time PDC ranking winner Jamie Caven is also under pressure after suffering his third successive second-round exit of the weekend. ‘Jabba’ is one of the 32 seeded players and receives a bye to round-two, therefore he is without a win over the course of the weekend.
The Premier League trio of Raymond van Barneveld, Adrian Lewis and Jelle Klaasen all reached round-four, before suffering defeats to Christian Kist, Michael Smith & James Wade respectively. Nevertheless, all three men have virtually ensured that they will enter the UK Open Finals at the third-round stage.
In other news, 19-year-old Ted Evetts hit the first nine-darter of the 2017 PDC season this afternoon. ‘Super-Ted’, who signed a contract with Unicorn earlier this week, registered the perfect leg en route to defeating yesterday’s winner Simon Whitlock in round-three, before eventually succumbing to Ian White in the last 32.
Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/PDC
Coral UK Open Qualifier Three
Sunday February 5
Preliminary Round
John Part 6-3 Roger Scrivens
Wes Newton 6-3 Mark Stephenson
Roxy-James Rodriguez 6-5 Warrick Scheffer
Antonio Alcinas 6-2 Eikichi Nakanishi
Michael Huntley 6-4 Mark Walsh
Mark Hylton 6-3 Kevin Thomas
Chris Dobey 6-1 Billy Holmes
Mario Robbe 6-4 Nathan Aspinall
Harry Ward 6-3 Nigel Daniels
Adam Smith-Neale 6-1 John Brown
Martin Lukeman 6-4 Diogo Portela
Rene Eidams 6-5 Shaun Griffiths
Richie Corner 6-4 Dennis Smith
Steve Lennon 6-4 Ryan Palmer
Ross Twell 6-3 Yuki Yamanda
Steve Hine 6-1 Connor Scutt
Jonny Clayton 6-5 Sven Groen
Nigel Pinchen 6-4 Nolan Arendse
Ryan Searle 6-1 Kevin Simm
James Hajdar 6-5 Jonathan Worsley
First Round
Stephen Bunting BYE
Stephen Burton 6-0 Eelco Sieperda
Scott Dale 6-5 Dick van Dijk
John Part 6-3 Michael Barnard
Vincent van der Voort BYE
Wayne Jones 6-1 Ryan de Vreede
Kurt Parry 6-5 Jamie Guilfoyle
Ricky Sudale 6-2 Wes Newton
Kim Huybrechts BYE
James Richardson 6-5 Yordi Meeuwisse
Richard North 6-4 William O’Connor
Paul Harvey 6-2 John Bowles
Peter Wright BYE
Stuart Dutton 6-5 Jerry Hendriks
Dean Stewart 6-3 Robert Owen
Lee Bryant 6-3 Jeffrey de Graaf
Dave Chisnall BYE
Ken Macneil 6-2 Kirk Shepherd
Stuart Bousfield 6-5 Derek Brand
Matt Clark 6-3 Eddie Dootson
Gerwyn Price BYE
Joe Murnan 6-4 Robbie Green
Mike de Decker 6-3 Karsten Kornath
Scott Taylor 6-5 Roxy-James Rodriguez
Michael van Gerwen BYE
Kevin McDine 6-5 Michael Burgoine
Brian Woods 6-1 Devon Petersen
Andy Jenkins 6-2 John Michael
Joe Cullen BYE
Chris Quantock 6-0 Jim Moston
Steve Douglas 6-1 Nick Fullwell
Maik Langendorf 6-5 Antonio Alcinas
Jamie Caven BYE
Joe Davis 6-3 Barry Lynn
Ting Chi Royden Lam 6-3 Josh Payne
Kai Fan Leung 6-5 Michael Huntley
Benito van de Pas BYE
Darren Johnson 6-3 James Lane
Mark Dudbridge 6-1 John Crossley
Mick Todd 6-5 Callum Loose
Robert Thornton BYE
Keegan Brown 6-4 Ritchie Edhouse
Dawson Murschell 6-4 Vincent Kamphuis
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Par Riihonen
Kyle Anderson BYE
Curtis Hamond 6-5 Justin Smith
Stuart Kellett 6-2 Jimmy Hendriks
Josh McCarthy 6-4 Mark Hylton
Daryl Gurney BYE
Jack Todd 6-3 Jeff Batham
Adrian Gray 6-0 Mark Westgarth
Chris Dobey 6-4 Craig Gilchrist
Alan Norris BYE
Terry Temple 6-1 Jon Jukes
Marc Dewsbury 6-4 Ryan Harrington
Kevin Dowling 6-5 Mario Robbe
John Henderson BYE
Joshua Richardson 6-4 Greg Ritchie
Zoran Lerchbacher 6-1 Jim Brown
Bernd Roith 6-2 Harry Ward
James Wilson BYE
Rob Cross 6-4 Barrie Bates
Dylan Duo 6-2 Rohit Rabadia
Adam Smith Neale 6-2 Richard Baillie
Jamie Lewis BYE
Scott Rollings 6-2 Bradley Brooks
Ryan Murray 6-0 Andrew Currivan
Martin Lukeman 6-4 Bryan de Hoog
Steve Beaton BYE
Richie Burnett 6-4 Michael van Dijk
Jason Wilson 6-5 Dave Ladley
Jan Dekker 6-4 Rene Eidams
Simon Whitlock BYE
James Young 6-1 Arron Monk
Ted Evetts 6-1 Alan Tabern Jnr
Berry van Peer 6-3 Richie Corner
Ian White BYE
Michael Rasztovits 6-2 Dyson Parody
Martin Schindler 6-3 Paul Milford
Steve Brown 6-4 Alan Tabern
Andrew Gilding BYE
Jermaine Wattimena 6-0 Ricky Williams
Dimitri van den Bergh 6-5 Martin Thomas
Steve Lennon 6-1 Max Hopp
Darren Webster BYE
Luke Woodhouse 6-3 Wilco Vermeulen
Nathan Rafferty 6-4 Ian Lever
Ross Twell 6-5 Ronny Huybrechts
Mervyn King BYE
Rob Hewson 6-0 Rhys Jackson
Jim Walker 6-5 Andy Parsons
Mick McGowan 6-4 Steve Hine
Justin Pipe BYE
David Pallett 6-1 Sam Head
Steve West 6-3 Ricky Evans
Kevin Painter 6-3 Jonny Clayton
Raymond van Barneveld BYE
Charlie Jackson 6-4 Willy van de Wiel
Ron Meulenkamp 6-4 Paul Osmotherley
Ryan Meikle 6-3 Callan Rydz
Mark Webster BYE
James Hubbard 6-5 Andy Boulton
Christian Kist 6-3 Kevin Garcia
Nigel Pinchen 6-1 Steven Harbert
Cristo Reyes BYE
Jay Foreman 6-4 Ioannis Selachoglou
Paul Rowley 6-3 Allan Candlish
Ryan Searle 6-1 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Brendan Dolan BYE
Matthew Edgar 6-2 Darron Brown
Tony Newell 6-2 Ben Ward
Peter Hudson 6-1 Jamie Hajdar
James Wade BYE
Andy Hamilton 6-3 Ronnie Baxter
Madars Razma 6-2 Ray Campbell
Prakash Jiwa 6-4 Nathan Derry
Jelle Klaasen BYE
Matthew Dennant 6-1 Gary Gullan
Mareno Michels 6-2 Kelvin Hart
Simon Stevenson 6-4 David Wilson
Michael Smith BYE
Paul Nicholson 6-1 Tim Hope
Colin Roelofs 6-1 Jim McKevitt
Jamie Bain 6-1 Sheamus Hagan
Adrian Lewis BYE
Mark Frost 6-0 Gary Stone
Mark Forman 6-4 Michael Wood
Coni Singh Nagi 6-4 Aden Kirk
Second Round
Stephen Bunting 6-5 Stephen Burton
John Part 6-2 Scott Dale
Vincent van der Voort 6-2 Wayne Jones
Kurt Parry 6-3 Ricky Sudale
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 James Richardson
Paul Harvey 6-4 Richard North
Peter Wright 6-2 Stuart Dutton
Lee Bryant 6-5 Dean Stewart
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Ken Macneil
Stuart Bousfield 6-5 Matt Clark
Gerwyn Price 6-4 Joe Murnan
Scott Taylor 6-4 Mike de Decker
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Kevin McDine
Andy Jenkins 6-2 Brian Woods
Joe Cullen 6-2 Chris Quantock
Maik Langendorf 6-3 Steve Douglas
Joe Davis 6-1 Jamie Caven
Kai Fan Leung 6-4 Ting Chi Royden Lam
Darren Johnson 6-4 Benito van de Pas
Mick Todd 6-1 Mark Dudbridge
Keegan Brown 6-3 Robert Thornton
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-0 Dawson Murschell
Kyle Anderson 6-1 Curtis Hammond
Stuart Kellett 6-3 Josh McCarthy
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Jack Todd
Adrian Gray 6-3 Chris Dobey
Alan Norris 6-1 Terry Temple
Kevin Dowling 6-2 Marc Dewsbury
John Henderson 6-2 Joshua Richardson
Bernd Roith 6-4 Zoran Lerchbacher
Rob Cross 6-5 James Wilson
Adam Smith-Neale 6-5 Dylan Duo
Scott Rollings 6-5 Jamie Lewis
Martin Lukeman 6-4 Ryan Murray
Steve Beaton BYE (Richie Burnett has withdrawn)
Jan Dekker 6-4 Jason Wilson
Simon Whitlock 6-0 James Young
Ted Evetts 6-3 Berry van Peer
Ian White 6-2 Michael Rasztovits
Martin Schindler 6-2 Steve Brown
Andrew Gilding 6-2 Jermaine Wattimena
Steve Lennon 6-0 Dimitri van den Bergh
Darren Webster 6-2 Luke Woodhouse
Ross Twell 6-2 Nathan Rafferty
Mervy King 6-0 Rob Hewson
Mick McGowan 6-2 Jim Walker
Justin Pipe 6-1 David Pallett
Kevin Painter 6-5 Steve West
Raymond van Barneveld 6-1 Charlie Jackson
Ron Meulenkamp 6-5 Ryan Meikle
Mark Webster 6-0 James Hubbard
Christian Kist 6-2 Nigel Pinchen
Cristo Reyes 6-5 Jay Foreman
Ryan Searle 6-2 Paul Rowley
Matthew Edgar 6-5 Bendan Dolan
Tony Newell 6-2 Peter Hudson
James Wade 6-2 Andy Hamilton
Prakash Jiwa 6-0 Madars Razma
Jelle Klaasen 6-2 Matthew Dennant
Simon Stevenson 6-1 Mareno Michels
Michael Smith 6-4 Paul Nicholson
Jamie Bain 6-2 Colin Roelofs
Adrian Lewis 6-3 Mark Frost
Mark Forman 6-3 Coni Singh Nagi
Third Round
Stephen Bunting 6-4 John Part
Vincent van der Voort 6-5 Kurt Parry
Paul Harvey 6-2 Kim Huybrechts
Peter Wright 6-2 Lee Bryant
Dave Chisnall 6-1 Stuart Bousfield
Gerwyn Price 6-5 Scott Taylor
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Andy Jenkins
Joe Cullen 6-5 Maik Langendorf
Joe Davis 6-3 Kai Fan Leung
Mick Todd 6-2 Darren Johnson
Keegan Brown 6-4 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Stuart Kellett 6-2 Kyle Anderson
Daryl Gurney 6-2 Adrian Gray
Alan Norris 6-1 Kevin Dowling
John Henderson 6-3 Bernd Roith
Rob Cross 6-0 Adam Smith-Neale
Martin Lukeman 6-2 Scott Rollings
Steve Beaton 6-3 Jan Dekker
Ted Evetts 6-4 Simon Whitlock
Ian White 6-5 Martin Schindler
Andrew Gilding 6-3 Steve Lennon
Darren Webster 6-3 Ross Twell
Mervyn King 6-4 Mick McGowan
Kevin Painter 6-3 Justin Pipe
Raymond van Barneveld 6-2 Ron Meulenkamp
Christian Kist 6-4 Mark Webster
Cristo Reyes 6-2 Ryan Searle
Tony Newell 6-5 Matthew Edgar
James Wade 6-1 Prakash Jiwa
Jelle Klaasen 6-4 Simon Stevenson
Michael Smith 6-4 Jamie Bain
Adrian Lewis 6-2 Mark Forman
Fourth Round
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Vincent van der Voort
Peter Wright 6-2 Paul Harvey
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Gerwyn Price
Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Joe Cullen
Mick Todd 6-3 Joe Davis
Stuart Kellett 6-5 Keegan Brown
Alan Norris 6-2 Daryl Gurney
Rob Cross 6-1 John Henderson
Steve Beaton 6-5 Martin Lukeman
Ian White 6-3 Ted Evetts
Darren Webster 6-3 Andrew Gilding
Mervyn King 6-1 Kevin Painter
Christian Kist 6-4 Raymond van Barneveld
Cristo Reyes 6-4 Tony Newell
James Wade 6-3 Jelle Klaasen
Michael Smith 6-4 Adrian Lewis
Fifth Round
Peter Wright 6-1 Stephen Bunting
Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Dave Chisnall
Mick Todd 6-4 Stuart Kellett
Alan Norris 6-4 Rob Cross
Ian White 6-2 Steve Beaton
Mervyn King 6-2 Darren Webster
Cristo Reyes 6-3 Christian Kist
Michael Smith 6-3 James Wade
Quarter-Finals
Peter Wright 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Mick Todd 6-4 Alan Norris
Ian White 6-3 Mervyn King
Michael Smith 6-2 Cristo Reyes
Semi-Finals
Peter Wright 6-2 Mick Todd
Michael Smith 6-5 Ian White
Final
Peter Wright 6-5 Michael Smith
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