- Scot holds nerve for 7-5 victory in Alexandra Palace final
- Missed bullseye in 12th set proves crucial blow for Smith
Eyes moist, red mohican sparkling in the lights, scalp painting glistening with sweat, Peter Wright won his second PDC world championship in one of its tensest and most absorbing finals. He did so not by outscoring Michael Smith but by outlasting him, not by blowing him off the board but simply by resisting, holding his nerve and holding his throw against one of the heaviest and most relentless treble-hitters in the sport.
As an exhausted Wright celebrated a 7-5 victory, Smith stood at the back of the stage: distraught, disconsolate, destroyed. He looked up at the lights, down at his feet, off to the side. He buried his face in his shirt. He turned and stared at the blue sponsor’s backdrop. Anything to avoid glancing at the Sid Waddell Trophy that was being placed on a plinth in front of him, the trophy that has now twice eluded him at the final hurdle.
