Will we see a better final than that?
On Saturday, at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin, Michael van Gerwen was stunned and beaten in a last set decider. The man who was tipped at 80/1 before the event began, Robert Thornton, beat him 5-4 in what was one of the most entertaining final in the history of the tournament.
The world number one’s bid to claim a third title in four years was denied by the Scotsman, who won his first Grand Prix title and second TV major.
The Dutchman landed an incredible 18 180’s in the nine-set contest but a resilient Thornton held in there keeping the pressure on MVG to secure victory.
Thornton took home the £100,000 prize which increased his ranking to fifth in the world, passing Adrian Lewis and James Wade.
It wasn’t to be quite the tournament for the higher ranked players. It was only van Gerwen and Thornton from the top eight seeds who made it to the quarter-finals.
World Champion, Gary Anderson, was knocked out in the second round by world number nine Ian White 3-1, whilst 11 time Grand Prix champion, Phil Taylor, was dumped out in the first round by Vincent van der Voort in straight sets.
Peter Wright, who arguably had the toughest draw facing Dave Chisnall on the first night, was defeated in a sudden death leg, whilst Adrian Lewis lost in straight sets to Mark Webster in round two and James Wade was beaten by Austria’s Mensur Suljovic 2-1 in the first round.
There were a few players who surprised in the event. Webster and Suljovic alongside Thornton, made a deep run into this year’s Grand Prix.
Coming off an unsuccessful two years, it looks as if Webster has found his form again which he hopes can boost him back up the rankings. He started the event ranked outside the top 30 but has gone up to 27th in the world which is hopefully a sign of things to come. In the tournament, he beat fellow Lakeside champion Stephen Bunting 2-1 before overcoming Adrian Lewis 3-0. He then reached the semi-finals by beating Jelle Klaasen in a thrilling 3-2 encounter.
As for Suljovic, his superb year continued when he got past James Wade 2-1 and Simon Whitlock 3-0. He then reached the semi’s by beating one of the fastest players in the world, van der Voort 3-1. Suljovic’s ranking has risen up to 24th and despite his unorthodox throwing style, is a player to watch.
One of the best runs came from Jamie Lewis. The Welshman marked himself as a player for the future and showed incredible courage as he survived two match darts against William O’Connor in the first round before coming from two sets down against 16th seed Michael Smith in the second. His run was brought to an end by MVG but watch out for him in the future.
With more changes in the rankings, Ian White leapfrogged Michael Smith for the number eight spot. Terry Jenkins has gotten himself back inside the top 10, however Five time world champion Raymond van Barneveld falls outside the top 16 . Fellow countryman Jelle Klaasen moved to 20th after reaching the quarter finals whilst Jamie Lewis moved inside the top 32 for the first time.
The next televised competition comes to us in November with the Grand Slam of Darts. Like the Grand Prix with it’s unique format of starting on a double as well as finishing, the Grand Slam has it’s own difference.
The Wolverhampton based event includes players from both the PDC and BDO organisations. There will be 24 players from the PDC and eight from the BDO.
