Peter Wright made an amazing comeback to defeat Michael Smith in the thrilling final of the PDC World Darts Championship.
Down 5-4 and with Smith two feet first in the 10th set, Wright fought back to win three consecutive sets for the title.
The Scotsman, winner in 2020, is only the sixth player to win the title twice.
Playing in the third final, Wright took a 2-0 lead before 9th seed Smith recovered to keep a 5-4 advantage.
However, with the partisan crowd at London’s Alexandra Palace firmly behind Smith, Wright hit back – winning eight straight legs at one point – to win 7-5 and post a second overall defeat to his British opponent.
The 51-year-old won £500,000 in prize money after winning his first title in 2020.
Victory now means Wright is just £15,250 behind world number one Gerwyn Price in the world darts ranking system.
With Wright leading two sets early thanks to 148 and 124 checks, Smith took the third with a superb 167 finish on the third inning to break Wright’s throw.
Then came a crucial moment when Wright missed two darts in the double that should have made it 3-1 in the first round. Smith, 31, capitalized on Wright’s misses to double the lead and make it 2-2.
World Matchplay champion Wright returned from the break with a new set of darts and kept his throw to make it 3-2, although Smith threw the tournament’s 72nd 180th to break the record. The previous 71 by Gary Anderson.
Smith then won two sets in a row to lead the match for the first time with a 4-3 scoreline before another pivotal moment when the Briton took a 5-4 lead.
In the 10th set, Wright lost his legs before winning three in a row to level the game once again.
That gave the Scots momentum and he turned three more legs with no reaction to win the 11th set, then won two more to go on in a leg of victory.
Smith blocked the win on the third leg in set 12 but that wasn’t enough and Wright hit a 12 double to win the match and become a two-time world champion.
