World Matchplay 2021: Peter Wright thrashes Dimitri van den Bergh to claim maiden title

Peter Wright won the PDC World Championship in 2020

Peter Wright claimed his first World Matchplay title as he thrashed defending champion Dimitri van den Bergh in Blackpool.

Wright, 51, averaged almost 106 and established a commanding 8-2 lead before sealing an 18-9 victory.

An emotional Wright dedicated his win to his wife Joanne, who has recently undergone back surgery.

The Scot, who won the PDC World Championship in 2020, also collected £150,000 in prize money.

“He missed a lot of doubles and let me in, otherwise it was very difficult to get this off of him,” Wright said.

“To beat last year’s Matchplay champion Dimitri – he is a very special friend. He’s just proved to the world how he can play.”

These two players know each other very well, with Van den Bergh having lodged with Wright when travel restrictions were imposed at the height of the coronavirus lockdown in 2020.

However, there was also no sentiment from the world number two, who never trailed during the match.

His Belgian opponent got the score back from 3-0 to 4-2 but Wright reeled off the next four legs to pull clear and went on to record a convincing win.