The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsRobert Thornton claimed his second PDC major title with a stupendous 5-4 sets win over defending champion Michael van Gerwen in a gripping finale to a brilliant week of darts at the Citywest in Dublin.
Van Gerwen raced into a 1-0 sets lead early on in the piece as he took the first set without reply ensuring he made a quick start to the match. However, ‘The Thorn’ was swift in his reply, taking the second set in a deciding leg in which he fired in six perfect darts.
Thornton picked out a few huge darts at double in the third set on his way to edging the set 3-2 and lead the match after falling behind early on. The Dutchman upped his game as a result and won the fourth set to level the match at 2-2 without reply.
The opening four sets had featured countless 180s, and the fifth set was no different, and it was the Scotsman who took a very important set to take the lead once again. However, van Gerwen swiftly responded again, winning the sixth set without reply for parity.
A crucial 74 checkout in the seventh set was a huge moment in this dramatic finial, and it was Robert Thornton who hit D16 with his last dart in hand to move in front 4-3 in sets. Following this, van Gerwen responded quickly to take the eighth set and force a decider.
The pair traded the opening two legs in the final set before van Gerwen missed three crucial darts at double allowing Thornton to step in and move one leg away from the World Grand Prix title. Thornton then went on to hit D20 to secure the title.
