Wright holds back the tears after Euro Tour glory “This means a lot to me.”

On an incredible night in Hildesheim, Peter Wright defeated Luke Littler 8-5 in the NEO.bet German Darts Championship final to return to the winners’ circle after a torrid time.

An emotional Wright defied the odds to defeat Littler in one of the most memorable European Tour finals of all time, after trailing 5-2 in Sunday’s showpiece at Halle 39.

In a thrilling match, teenage wonder Littler averaged 106.87 and struck ten 180s, but it was unable to defeat Wright, who reeled off six consecutive legs to win his second German Darts Championship.

Littler had made an ominous start to the match, nailing legs of 11, 14, and 13 darts to lead 3-0 with a 118 average.

Wright showed signs of life with a clinical 110 kill in leg six after Littler missed two darts for a 5-1 lead, only for the 17-year-old to reclaim his advantage with a 12-dart leg in leg seven.

However, a remarkable 146 checkout in leg eight changed the tide for Wright, who pounced on Littler’s missed opportunities in three consecutive legs to take an unlikely 6-5 lead.

Littler then missed double 15 for a sensational 150 checkout in leg 12 as Wright pinned double one to move on the edge of victory, before the Scot capped off a famous victory.

“I just kept believing in myself,” reflected Wright, who defied a ten-point gap in the averages to lift his ninth European Tour title – a record only bettered by Michael van Gerwen.

“Luke is a fantastic dart player and he was blowing me off the board with 180s, but I thought if I could keep with him, I might get back into it.

“This means a lot to me. Luke is distraught because he wants to win. He’s a fighter, he’s a winner, and he’ll be back and beating us all again soon!”

Wright holds back the tears after Euro Tour glory 

 

On Saturday, Wright won a thrilling second round against Stephen Bunting after defeating Niko Springer in the first round, as the Masters champion crashed out with a 103 average.

Following a difficult 6-4 triumph over Gian van Veen, the Scot defeated Van Gerwen by the same scoreline in an incredible quarter-final, averaging 108.90 to overcome a 4-2 lead.

This set up a semi-final confrontation against top seed Dave Chisnall, where Wright sustained his resurgence by pinning seven of his twelve tries at double to advance to his first final of 2024.

Littler, meanwhile, was unable to add to his victories in Wieze and Graz, despite hitting 31 maximums throughout the weekend, a new European Tour record.

The Warrington wonderkid began his title challenge with a six-leg thrashing of Dylan Slevin on Saturday, before winning a tough match against Ryan Searle to get to the last eight.

The Premier League winner then rallied from 4-1 down to defeat Damon Heta in a dramatic quarter-final, before proving too strong for Daryl Gurney in the final four, average 107 and hitting eight 180s to move to a match against Wright.

 

“Peter just wouldn’t go away,” conceded Littler, who was eyeing an eighth PDC title of 2024.

“I threw at my best, Peter threw at his best at the end, but maybe the game would have changed if I hit that 150 [checkout].

“Fair play to Peter. He’s played well all weekend, so I’ve got to take it on the chin.”

Sunday Results 

Sunday September 1

Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)

Third Round

Dave Chisnall 6-0 Joe Cullen

Martin Schindler 6-4 Chris Dobey

Michael van Gerwen 6-2 Danny Noppert

Peter Wright 6-4 Gian van Veen

Daryl Gurney 6-2 Krzysztof Ratajski

Nick Kenny 6-5 Ricardo Pietreczko

Damon Heta 6-4 Andrew Gilding

Luke Littler 6-2 Ryan Searle

 

Evening Session

Quarter-Finals

Dave Chisnall 6-5 Martin Schindler

Peter Wright 6-4 Michael van Gerwen

Daryl Gurney 6-3 Nick Kenny

Luke Littler 6-5 Damon Heta

 

Semi-Finals

Peter Wright 7-5 Dave Chisnall

Luke Littler 7-2 Daryl Gurney

 

Final

Peter Wright 8-5 Luke Littler