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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Jonathan Veal

Michael Smith beats Michael van Gerwen in thriller to claim World Darts Championship title at third attempt

Michael Smith Van Gerwen Michael Van Gerwen World Darts Championship Peter Wright Alexandra Palace

If at first you don’t succeed: Michael Smith claimed a first world title in his third final appearance at Ally Pally

(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

Michael Smith fired a stunning nine-dart finish on his way to winning the World Darts Championship for the first time after a brilliant victory over Michael van Gerwen at Alexandra Palace.

The 32-year-old, a two-time runner-up including a painful defeat to Peter Wright 12 months ago, hit darting perfection in the second set and continued to produce some mesmeric scoring as he won one of the greatest finals ever 7-4 that left him in tears of joy.

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