Snakebite Seals Czech Darts Open Crown
Peter Wright picked up his first Euro Tour scalp of the year after beating Dave Chisnall 8-6 in the Final of the 2023 Czech Darts Open in Prague.
Snakebite takes home £30,000 for his win and retakes second position in the PDC rankings, after Michael van Gerwen took the spot with his victory last week in the Belgian Darts Open.
The Scotsman started off his Sunday in the Czech capital with a 6-3 victory over Danny Noppert, including a 153 checkout and a 101.81 average against the former UK Open winner.
Wright then overcame defending champion and fellow Red Dragon player Luke Humphries in the Quarter Finals, advancing a 6-3 winner against Cool Hand Luke. Peter once more impressed on the ton plus checkouts, hitting double 18 for a 156 finish to move into a 4-3 lead.
The former 2-time World Champion then faced reigning World Cup winner Damon Heta, who had recently survived match darts in his Quarter Final last leg decider win over Jonny Clayton. Both players averaged over 100, with the Semi Final including 11 180s over 12 legs off darts.
Peter averaged 104.01 in a 7-5 win against Damon Heta, including a checkout rate of 53.85% and a 121 finish to break the throw in the 5th leg.
Snakebite once more found a ton plus checkout in the Final, finishing 100 in the 5th leg to break the throw in Prague. It was Chizzy who hit the highest finish of the game, finding a Shanghai (120) checkout in the 11th leg to reduce the deficit to just one leg.
Wright closed out his 8-6 victory with a 56 check out after hitting double 10 with his last dart in hand, to win his inaugural Czech Darts Open title: an 8th success on the European Tour. The win in Prague makes it 2 wins for Snakebite on the PDC Circuit this year, after clinching the Nordic Darts Masters in Copenhagen back in January.
The World Number 2 will return to action on Thursday for the final league phase night of the 2023 Premier League in Aberdeen, as he prepares to face league leader Gerwyn Price in the Quarter Finals.
By Harry Masterson
2023 Czech Darts Open: Results
Last 16:
Rob Cross 6-3 Karel Sedlacek
Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Josh Rock
Nathan Aspinall 6-1 Ryan Searle
Dave Chisnall 6-4 Andrew Gilding
Jonny Clayton 6-3 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Damon Heta 6-5 Kim Huybrechts
Peter Wright 6-3 Danny Noppert
Luke Humphries 6-1 Dimitri van den Bergh
Quarter Finals:
Rob Cross 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Dave Chisnall 6-5 Nathan Aspinall
Damon Heta 6-5 Jonny Clayton
Peter Wright 6-3 Luke Humphries
Semi Finals:
Dave Chisnall 7-4 Rob Cross
Peter Wright 7-5 Damon Heta
Final:
Peter Wright 8-6 Dave Chisnall