Snakebite misses out on winning Open title in final loss

Darts ace Peter Wright narrowly missed out clinching the Coral UK Championship title after suffering an 11-5 defeat in the final to rival and world number one Michael van Gerwen.

The Mendham player, ranked fifth in the world, had already knocked out 16-time world champion Phil Taylor in the quarter-finals before producing a devastating display in the next round to whitewash Stephen Bunting and reach the final.

However, ‘Snakebite’ could not get the better of the man he told to ‘grow up’ after their public spat following a 6-6 draw in the Premier League in Exeter last week, as the Dutchman eased his way to the title.

The 44-year-old blamed fatigue for his final defeat but remained upbeat.

“It’s been a long weekend and I think I ran out of energy in the final, and Michael was too good,” said Wright, speaking to the PDC website after the tie.

“I’m really pleased to have got to the final. There’s a lot of potential going forward with these darts after only nine or 10 days using them, and I’ll be going after Michael.”

Wright was due back in action last night for round six of the Betway Premier League at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham.

The Scot was due to face Kim Huybrechts as one of three players battling to avoid elimination at the bottom of the table.

Wright goes into the tie on the back of draws with Raymond van Barneveld, Taylor and van Gerwen over the past three weeks.