German Darts Open: Inspired Peter Wright beats Dimitri Van den Bergh to end Euro Tour title drought
- Planet Sport writer
- 12 September 2022
World champion Peter Wright claimed his first European Tour title since 2017 after edging out Dimitri Van den Bergh in a dramatic final to clinch German Darts Open glory in Jena.
Wright, competing in just his second tournament since returning from gallstones surgery last month, produced a series of superb displays to scoop the £25,000 top prize at the Sparkassen-Arena on Sunday.
The World Champion was the epitome of consistency throughout the weekend, and he defied a spirited display from Van den Bergh to close out an 8-6 success and lift his seventh European Tour title.
Wright made a blistering start to Sunday's showpiece, following up 120 and 160 checkouts with a ten-darter on the bull to establish an early 3-2 lead.
Van den Bergh responded with a 12-darter to level at three apiece - sparking a run of three straight legs for the Belgian - although misses at tops and then the bull for a 161 finish in consecutive legs enabled Wright to restore parity at 5-5.
The Scot rattled in a 13-darter to regain the lead, and although Van den Bergh again delivered a 12-dart riposte, Wright followed up a 68 combination with a 13-dart hold to end his five-year wait for European Tour success.
"Dimitri is a fantastic player. He's the future of darts, but the old guy is still doing it!" claimed Wright, celebrating his first PDC ranking title since February.
"Last week I really fancied going to Hungary and winning the tournament, but I went out first round. I wasn't good enough.
"Jena is a fantastic place to play though. The crowd get behind me and inspire me to play fantastic darts, and we wouldn't be anywhere without these amazing fans."
German Darts Open Results
Quarter-Finals
Joe Cullen 6-5 Luke Humphries
Peter Wright 6-2 Ross Smith
Jose De Sousa 6-5 Gerwyn Price
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-3 Krzysztof Ratajski
Semi-Finals
Peter Wright 7-4 Joe Cullen
Dimitri Van den Bergh 7-3 Jose De Sousa
Final
Peter Wright 8-6 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Photo Credit:
Kais Bodensieck/PDC Europe
