Darts results: Peter Wright beats Dimitri Van den Bergh in German Darts Open final
Peter Wright claimed his first European Tour title since 2017 as he edged out Dimitri Van den Bergh to clinch Interwetten German Darts Open glory in just his second tournament since returning from surgery.
The former housemates, who now have a strangely frosty relationship ever since the Belgian's victory over Snakebite at the World Matchplay, played out a thrilling clash before the 51-year-old gained revenge for that defeat in Blackpool.
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 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.
Van den Bergh recently revealed that the pair don't speak to each other anymore, telling HLN: "I saw him last week (at the Hungarian Darts Trophy) in Budapest, but we didn't say anything to each other. I think it's all a bit weird. It has come about since my victory at the World Matchplay. God knows why. Do I mind? Yes, because I haven't done anything wrong.
"He did indeed take me into his house for three months, a great experience. But if you see how I'm being treated now, that's it for me. I don't spend my time with people who suddenly have no respect for me anymore. I don't expect any gesture from him, but I just want him to act normal. Maybe there is jealousy involved? No idea what's going on in his mind."
However, Wright did pay his opponent some respect by saying: "Dimitri is a fantastic player. He's the future of darts, but the old guy is still doing it! 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."
Following his opening round exit in Hungary last weekend, Wright had returned to winning ways with a 6-3 win over Raymond van Barneveld on Saturday night, and he saw off Jonny Clayton by the same scoreline to continue his challenge on Sunday afternoon.
The Scot produced a dominant display to sweep aside Ross Smith in the quarter-finals, before ending Joe Cullen’s quest for back-to-back European Tour titles with a 7-4 victory in the semi-finals, posting ton-plus averages in both matches.
Van den Bergh, featuring in his second European Tour final, endured a dramatic evening in Jena - undergoing a medical assessment after he felt unwell following his quarter-final win.
The former World Matchplay champion, who eased past David Evans on Saturday afternoon, fought back from 4-1 down to dump out Luke Woodhouse in the last 16, conjuring up an 11-darter in the decider after Woodhouse had missed the bull for victory.
The 28-year-old then converted three ton-plus checkouts to defeat a wasteful Krzysztof Ratajski in the last eight, before easing past Jose De Sousa 7-3 in the semi-finals to secure the £10,000 runner-up prize.
De Sousa posted a 101 average in seeing off Steve Beaton on Sunday afternoon, before producing a 126 checkout on the bull to stun world number one Gerwyn Price in a thrilling quarter-final tussle.
Meanwhile, Cullen won through to the semi-finals with a trio of deciding-leg wins, taking out a sensational 136 checkout to edge out Joe Murnan, while surviving match darts in wins over Daryl Gurney and top seed Luke Humphries.
Humphries - a four-time winner on the European Tour in 2022 - kicked off Sunday’s action by dispatching Dave Chisnall with a 105 average, only to squander five match darts in his quarter-final clash against Cullen.
Price and Smith also suffered last eight exits despite landing 106 averages in wins over Martin Schindler and Damon Heta earlier in the day, while Ratajski’s European Championship qualification hopes remain in the balance following his defeat to Van den Bergh.
Interwetten German Darts Open results
Sunday September 11
Afternoon session (1200 BST)
- Luke Humphries 6-3 Dave Chisnall
- Joe Cullen 6-5 Daryl Gurney
- Peter Wright 6-3 Jonny Clayton
- Ross Smith 6-3 Damon Heta
- Gerwyn Price 6-1 Martin Schindler
- Jose De Sousa 6-3 Steve Beaton
- Krzysztof Ratajski 6-5 Rob Cross
- Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-5 Luke Woodhouse
Evening Session (1800 BST)
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
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