Darts results: Gerwyn Price beats Michael van Gerwen 8-7 in Players Championship Six final
Gerwyn Price won his first tournament of the year with a thrilling 8-7 defeat of Michael van Gerwen in the final of Players Championship 6 in Wigan on Sunday.
Having lost out to world champion Peter Wright with an average of 109 in Saturday's final of Players Championship 5 - with Snakebite sinking a stunning 170 checkout to seal glory - Price found the bullseye himself for a 94 finish in the deciding leg to land the 10th PDC title of his career.
The two-time Grand Slam of Darts champion had to do so under real pressure too after van Gerwen fired in a score of 174 to leave just 36 but the Dutchman wasn't given the chance to break his duck for 2020.
Price started the stronger in their first meeting of the season by storming into a 4-1 lead following MVG's 126 checkout in the opening leg and despite being pegged back to 5-4, he moved to the brink of glory by taking the next two.
MVG hits 174 to leave 36 for his first title of 2020...only for Gerwen Price to go 25, 19, bull to win it! Great celebrations and sportsmanship too. What a weekend.pic.twitter.com/VAomJ2Max6
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) February 23, 2020
Van Gerwen rallied with a pair of 11-darters either side of another in 15 to force the deciding leg only to come up just short as Price held his nerve to claim just his second ever victory over the world number one in 22 attempts.
The Welshman, who averaged 102.5 compared to his opponent's 101.9, is the sixth different winner of Players Championship events this season while it's the first time since 2011 that van Gerwen will enter March without a PDC title.
Statistically, however, MVG did enjoy a strong day at the office having fired in the 11th nine-darter on the PDC circuit this season during his 7-6 semi-final triumph over Krzysztof Ratajski while he also averaged over 100 on four other occasions including a pair of 106s against James Wade (6-2) and Gabriel Clemens (6-5).
The five-time Premier League champion also defeated Gary Anderson 6-4 in the third round following his wins over Joe Murnan (6-0) and Rowby-John Rodriguez (6-2).
Price also posted averages of 100+ in five of his seven matches, including marks of 102 against both Stephen Bunting (7-3) and Steve Beaton (6-4) in the semis and quarters respectively.
He did have to survive three match darts in a deciding leg in a 6-5 thriller with Luke Woodhouse in round two while his other victories came against Ryan Murray (6-2), Simon Stevenson (6-3) and Jamie Hughes (6-4).
Price told www.pdc.tv: "Going into the deciding leg, with Michael throwing first, it looked like the game was gone. I just wanted to make sure I gave myself a shot for the match and I made sure I took it.
"I truly believe now that if I hit my doubles I will win matches against Michael, Peter [Wright] or whoever; my scoring game is up there, if not better than them.
"If you go back to when I started out I threw the towel in and lost games like this but I stuck in there today.
"I've played five events this year and I've got to three finals so I'm doing alright so far in 2020."
Players Championship Six results: Sunday February 23 (Last 16 onwards)
- For all the Players Championship Six results and detailed stats, head to Dart Connect (tv.dartconnect.com/events/pdc)
Last 16
- Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Cristo Reyes
- James Wade 6-2 Ricky Evans
- Peter Wright 6-3 Adrian Lewis
- Krzysztof Ratajski 6-4 Devon Petersen
- Ian White 6-3 Jermaine Wattimena
- Stephen Bunting 6-2 Simon Whitlock
- Gerwyn Price 6-4 Jamie Hughes
- Steve Beaton 6-3 Daryl Gurney
Quarter-Finals
- Michael van Gerwen 6-2 James Wade
- Krzysztof Ratajski 6-2 Peter Wright
- Stephen Bunting 6-4 Ian White
- Gerwyn Price 6-4 Steve Beaton
Semi-Finals
- Michael van Gerwen 7-6 Krzysztof Ratajski
- Gerwyn Price 7-3 Stephen Bunting
Final
- Gerwyn Price 8-7 Michael van Gerwen
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