Wright ends wait for a ranking title at the Czech Darts Open 

At the Gambrinus Czech Darts Open in Prague, Peter Wright won his first ranking title of 2023 with a sensational final day that culminated in an 8-6 victory over Dave Chisnall in the championship match.

The two-time World Champion Wright is currently languishing at the bottom of the Cazoo Premier League standings after experiencing recent hardships both on and off the oche.

Wright had only one tournament victory in 2023 up until the Nordic Darts Masters in January, but he put an end to that dry spell at PVA Expo.

With his victory on Sunday, Wright tied Gerwyn Price’s record for most European Tour championships and moved up to second place on the PDC Order of Merit ahead of Michael van Gerwen.

Wright also celebrated a memorable victory because it was his first ranking success since winning a European Tour championship in Jena in September of last year.

“Wow – I won!” smiled an emotional Wright. “Chizzy has won three in about six months so it’s always going to be hard playing him.

 “To win tournaments you need these ton-plus averages. My averages will go up and they need to go up, because the standard of player around at the moment is unbelievable and it’s great for darts.”

“I’m an old guy enjoying darts, which is the main thing,” added Wright. “This crowd were unbelievable, they supported everybody and I can’t wait to [be back] next year.”

 

In order to defeat Brendan Dolan on Saturday’s second round, Wright had to come from behind in Prague.

He however found his best form in the third round, defeating Danny Noppert 6-3, finishing with a 153 and averaging 102, before eliminating top seed Luke Humphries in the quarterfinals with a 156 checkout.

Damon Heta attempted a comeback after falling behind 5-1, but the Scot held him off to win the match 7-5. Heta missed three opportunities to tie the match in leg 10 before Wright won on a 104, advancing him to the championship match.

Wright got things going in the final with a 100 finish to break throw right away with a 12-darter. He then doubled his lead before Chisnall fought back to tie the score with back-to-back legs of his own.

Wright pulled off another 100 checkout to retake the lead, and after they traded 13-darters, the former World Champion won the next two legs to take a 6-3 lead.

Heta then punished Wright for missing a bull by breaking back on double nine, finishing with a 120, and cutting the deficit to one.

Tops brought Wright close to winning, but despite missing five match darts in the 13th leg, the 53-year-old was the first to a finish in the following leg as a double ten won the match and the match for Wright.

Chisnall defeated UK Open champion Andrew Gilding, Premier League player Nathan Aspinall, and Rob Cross to advance to another final. Chisnall has won European Tour championships in Kiel and Leeuwarden this year in addition to Wieze last September.

 

“Peter played brilliant and deserved to win the game,” said Chisnall. “He had a little bit more in the final but it was a great weekend for me to get to the final.

 “I’ve had a great tournament in front of a wonderful crowd – it’s been a pleasure and I’m looking forward to coming back next year.”

Heta, the Australian World Cup star, who won on the European Tour in Gibraltar in 2014, advanced to the semifinals by defeating Jonny Clayton of the Premier League and Kim Huybrechts of the European Tour.

In the opening third-round matchup on Sunday, Cross defeated Karel Sedlacek 6-3 to end home hopes in Prague and advance to the quarterfinals against Van Gerwen.

Van Gerwen, the winner of the Belgian Darts Open last weekend, lost to Cross in the quarterfinals, and top seed Humphries, as well as rivals from the Premier League Aspinall and Clayton, also lost in the last eight.

The Interwetten European Darts Grand Prix in Sindelfingen, where 48 players will compete over three days, marks the return of the PDC European Tour from May 26–28.

 

2023 Gambrinus Czech Darts Open

Sunday May 14

Afternoon Session

Third Round

Rob Cross 6-3 Karel Sedlacek

Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Josh Rock

Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Ryan Searle

Dave Chisnall 6-4 Andrew Gilding

Jonny Clayton 6-3 Dirk van Duijvenbode

Damon Heta 6-5 Kim Huybrechts

Peter Wright 6-3 Danny Noppert

Luke Humphries 6-1 Dimitri Van den Bergh

 

Evening Session 

Quarter-Finals

Rob Cross 6-4 Michael van Gerwen

Dave Chisnall 6-5 Nathan Aspinall

Damon Heta 6-5 Jonny Clayton

Peter Wright 6-3 Luke Humphries

 

Semi-Finals

Dave Chisnall 7-4 Rob Cross

Peter Wright 7-5 Damon Heta

 

Final

Peter Wright 8-6 Dave Chisnall