Peter Wright beat Michael Smith 7-5 in the final of the PDC World Darts Championship at the Alexandra Palace to become a two-time winner of darts’ biggest event.
The Scot needed to produce a comeback late in the game after letting an early two-set lead slip to beat Michael Smith in a thrilling final at the Ally Pally.
Snakebite found himself playing poorly and trailing five four down in a race to seven sets with Smith two legs up in the tenth.
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Streaky as he is, he then turned on the style and never really looked back, stunning Bully Boy in the process.
Wright, who won the event in 2020, went on to win three sets in a row to claim the title.
The 51-year-old becomes only the sixth player to win the title twice.
2021 World Matchplay champion Wright became the oldest first-time darts player when he won the event two years ago and remains the second oldest winner in history behind 16 times winner Phil ‘ The Power’ Taylor, who was 53 when he won his last world title.
During the tournament, Wright averaged 98.34 compared to Smith’s 99.22.
In the semis, Wright had beaten fellow Scot Gary Anderson, while Bully Boy saw off the challenge of James Wade.
Only one round earlier, Smith knocked out the returning champion Gerwyn ‘The Iceman’ Price, who threw the tournament’s third nine-dart finish during the match.
Two Set Lead Lost
Playing in his third final, Snakebite stormed into a two-set lead before England’s Smith, who was appearing in his second Ally Pally final, took the following two.
The world champion then switched his darts set during the break before coming out to hold his throw, this despite Smith throwing his 72nd 180 of the tournament – which broke Gary Anderson’s previous record of 71 – and retake the lead to go three two up.
Smith then took the following two sets to lead the match for the first time at four three before also claiming the ninth.
In the 10th set, with Smith five four ahead, Wright was two legs down before winning three straight legs to level the match once again.
Switching on the afterburners, the Scot then reeled off another three legs without reply from perennial runner-up Bully Boy.
After taking down the 11th set, Snakebite then won two more legs to move within one of victory.
Smith did manage to win the third leg in the 12th set but Wright landed a double 12 before long to win the match and win the PDC World Championship for the second time.
Snakebite’s Winning Darts Betting Tips
Back in July, our new world champion made a bold prediction when he made the following claim, “I am going to win the Worlds and the World Matchplay this year, so get the double on. Put a £1 on it or 50p“.
As far as darts betting tips go, that was a pretty successful one because back in the summer, prior to the Blackpool event, that double was around 80/1 with bet365 darts betting so we hope you got that on at the time.
Peaking at the exact right time for darts’ two biggest majors, he has been consistently inconsistent in 2021 throwing the best and worst of darts.
In all though, it’s been a pretty decent couple of years for a player that nearly quit the sport before reaching his first World Championship final back in 2014.
Since then, he suffered a further 19 televised final defeats and lost 11 of his first 12 majors finals before winning six of his last seven ahead of his maiden world title, so he knows only to well how his beaten opponent feels today.
For Smith, 31 from St Helens, this was his sixth major final defeat out of six after also coming home second in the 2018 Darts Premier League, 2018 World Series of Darts Finals, 2019 World Darts Championship, 2019 World Matchplay and the 2020 Darts Masters.
PDC World Championship 2022 Key Stats
OVERALL
- Tournament average: 91.66
- 100+ averages: 13
- 100+ checkouts: 228
- Tournament 180s: 859 (0.47 per leg)
- Legs played: 1798
- Sets played: 435
HIGHEST TOURNAMENT AVERAGE
- Jonny Clayton: 102.83 (three matches played)
HIGHEST MATCH AVERAGE
- Michael Smith: 106.32 versus Ron Meulenkamp (Round Two)
MOST 180s
- Michael Smith: 83 in 199 legs (0.41 per leg) *Tournament record
NINE DARTERS (THREE THROWN)
- William Borland versus Bradley Brooks (Round One)
- Darius Labanauskas versus Mike De Decker (Round One)
- Gerwyn Price versus Michael Smith (Quarter Finals)
NEW YEAR, NEW SEASON
With the first title of the new season out of the way, it’s around 49 weeks until we make a return to the North London and the Ally Pally, but there’s plenty of PDC darts tournaments lined up for the new year in what looks like a more regular darts calendar in 2022 following a disrupted couple of seasons.
Next up is the PDC Darts Masters at the end of the month where reigning champion Jonny Clayton will return to Milton Keynes looking to defend his crown.
The Ferret’s success in the tournament earned him a spot in the Premier League of Darts, which he then also went on to win.
In a similar manner, the PDC will announce this year’s 10 Premier League players later on in the month, likely after the Masters.
We do know that Jonny Clayton has his entry, as does world number one Gerwyn Price, five times winner Michael van Gerwen and, of course, newly crowned world champ Peter Wright.
July sees the World Matchplay get underway at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, while all of the autumnal tournaments should be going off in their usual spot all things being well, before the World Champions get going again around Christmas time to lead us into the new year.
PDC 2022 FULL DARTS TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
JANUARY
- 28 – 30, January (Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes) The Darts Masters
- Defending champion: Jonny Clayton (Wales)
FEBRUARY
- 3 February, (Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff) Premier League Darts 2022 Night One
- 10 February, (M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool) Premier League Darts 2022 Night Two
- 17 February, (SSE Arena, Belfast) Premier League Darts 2022 Night Three
- 24 February, (Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin, Germany) Premier League Darts 2022 Night Four
- 31 March, (Utilita Arena, Birmingham) Premier League Darts 2022 Night Nine (Judgement Night)
- (Premier League) Defending champion: Jonny Clayton (Wales)
MARCH
- 3 March, (Westpoint, Exeter) Premier League Darts 2022 Night Five
- 4 – 6 March (Butlin’s Minehead Resort) UK Open
- Defending Champion: James Wade (England)
- 10 March, (The Brighton Centre, Brighton) Premier League Darts 2022 Night Six
- 17 March, (Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham) Premier League Darts 2022 Night Seven
- 24 March, (Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam) Premier League Darts 2022 Night Eight
APRIL
- 7 April, (First Direct Arena, Leeds) Premier League Darts 2022 Night Ten
- 14 April, (AO Arena, Manchester) Premier League Darts 2022 Night Eleven
- 21 April, (P&J Live, Aberdeen) Premier League Darts 2022 Night Twelve
- 28 April, (3Arena, Dublin) Premier League Darts 2022 Night Thirteen
MAY
- 5 May, (OVO Arena, Glasgow) Premier League Darts 2022 Night Fourteen
- 12 May, (Utilita Arena, Sheffield) Premier League Darts 2022 Night Fifteen
- 19 May, (The O2, London) Premier League Darts 2022 Night Sixteen
- 26 May, (Utilita Arena Newcastle) Premier League Darts 2022 Night Seventeen (Play Off Night)
JUNE
- 3 – 4 June (Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA) US Darts Masters (World Series)
- Defending Champion: Nathan Aspinall (England)
- 16 – 19 June (Eissporthalle, Frankfurt, Germany) World Cup of Darts
- Defending Champion: Scotland
JULY
- 16 – 24 July (Winter Gardens, Blackpool) World Matchplay of Darts
- Defending Champion: Peter Wright (Scotland)
AUGUST
- 12 – 13 August (Townsville Entertainment & Convention Centre, Townsville, Australia) Queensland Darts Masters (World Series)
- 26 – 27 August (WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong, Australia) New South Wales Darts Masters (World Series)
- 19 – 20 August (Claudelands Arena, Hamilton, New Zealand) New Zealand Darts Masters (World Series)
- Defending Champion: Michael van Gerwen (The Netherlands)
SEPTEMBER
- 16 – 18 September (AFAS Live, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) World Series of Darts Finals
- Defending Champion: Jonny Clayton (Wales)
OCTOBER
- 2 – 8 October (Citywest Convention Centre, Dublin) World Grand Prix
- Defending Champion: Jonny Clayton (Wales)
- 27 – 30 October (Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany) European Championship
- Defending Champion: Rob Cross (England)
NOVEMBER
- TBC: (Aldersley Leisure Village, Wolverhampton) Grand Slam of Darts (Unconfirmed)
- Defending Champion: Gerwyn Price (Wales)
- TBC: (Butlin’s Minehead Resort) Players Championship Finals (Unconfirmed)
- Defending Champion: Peter Wright (Scotland)
DECEMBER
- TBC (Alexandra Palace, London) 2023 PDC Darts World Championship (Unconfirmed)
Defending Champion: Peter Wright (Scotland)