Peter Wright has moved up from seventh to second on the new PDC world darts rankings after landing his maiden World title last night.
The 2017 UK Open winner, who had lost his three previous major finals, dominated the decider at the Alexandra Palace last night, defeating reigning champion Michael van Gerwen by seven sets to three.
Wright took out 53.3% of his doubles and won three of the four sets which went the distance against MvG.
"I can't quite believe it," Snakebite said after lifting the Sid Waddell trophy and receiving a cheque for £500,000.
"I thought about giving up before I reached the final six years ago but this shows that you should never give up on your dreams. Michael is an excellent champion and deserves everything he has won but it was my turn and it feels brilliant.
"I've worked so hard on finding the right darts, the right throw and the right mentality and it all came together at the right time. I am really proud of myself and really grateful for everybody that has helped me become World Champion."
van Gerwen had been hoping to land a 51st televised title in a decade but the Dutchman reserved praise for the new champion after the match:
"Of course it hurts a lot to lose this final but the credit goes to Peter. He played a great tournament and was better than me in the biggest moments and I think he deserved to win in the end.
"I can only blame myself for missing at important moments but I will work hard to come back stronger from this."
