GARY ANDERSON sealed a fifth World Series of Darts title, and a first in Australia as he defeated Raymond van Barneveld 11-7 in the final of the 2017 TABtouch Perth Darts Masters.
The 2017 Dubai Darts Masters champion overcame James Wade in the semi-final before going on to defeat the Dutchman in a superb final at the HBF Stadium.
The decider began in style with both players hitting a 180 in the opening leg of the match, as Van Barneveld took out 61 on double 18 to hold throw.
An 11-dart leg followed for Anderson as he found tops and levelled the score at 1-1.
The pair traded holds until the fifth leg where Anderson struck the first major blow of the final. Van Barneveld missed three darts for a third consecutive hold allowing Anderson to break the throw on double five.
The Dutchman struck back immediately, punishing Anderson for missing six darts at a double to move two clear. Van Barneveld pinned double 16 to level the score at 3-3.
Yet another break followed, this time Anderson taking out a superb 136 finish on double eight to regain his lead.
With both players continuing to struggle on their own throws, a further two breaks followed with the Scot moving in to a 5-4 lead.
Anderson then found the game's first hold of throw for five legs in the tenth, taking out 40 on tops to give him a 6-4 advantage.
Van Barneveld produced a moment of magic in the 13th leg, with Anderson sat on a two-dart finish, the 5-time World Champion hit the bullseye for a delightful 121 finish, to take the score to 7-6 in Anderson’s favour.
Three consecutive holds took the score to 9-7 where Anderson turned the screw with a 14-dart break to move within a leg of the title.
Two moments of quality helped to see Anderson over the line, first hitting a maximum to leave 164 and then narrowly missing the bull to finish in style. The 46-year-old sealed the title with his next visit, taking out 25 on double eight.
It was Anderson’s first tournament win since defeating Ian White in the final of Players Championship 14 in June and he spoke of his delight after the final.
“It’s great to win here, this is my kind of town, nice and relaxed! It’s been a long three weeks and I just can’t wait to get home and see my son,” said Anderson.
“Raymond is a legend of the game and beating him at any time is fantastic, so to do it in a final is even better.
“There’s some big things coming up in my personal life and on the dart board over the next few months so I can’t wait to get going,” Added Anderson, whose partner Rachel is expecting the birth of their second child next month.
Anderson sealed his passage in to the final with a 11-9 win over James Wade earlier in the night.
The world number two started in style taking out 160 in the opening leg to set the tone for the match.
Despite numerous breaks of throw by Anderson, Wade kept in touch with his opponent throughout the match punishing the Scot for a number of missed darts at doubles during the game.
With the match looking set to go to a decider Anderson broke the throw in the 20th leg to set-up his first PDC final against Raymond van Barneveld.
The Dutchman booked his place in his first individual final since the 2015 Auckland Darts Masters after surviving three match-darts against Daryl Gurney in a 11-10 win.
It was the third consecutive match that Van Barneveld had needed a deciding last leg to confirm a victory in Perth, overcoming the Northern-Irishman in a thrilling encounter.
Gurney, who had only missed four darts at doubles throughout the entire tournament going in to the match, struggled with his finishing in the semi-finals, only hitting 28.57% of his attempts.
A dramatic final leg saw Gurney leave tops after 12-darts before going on to miss three-darts to claim a spot in his second World Series final of 2017.
Van Barneveld punished his opponent with an 87 finish on double 18 to book a place in the final.
Despite the 50-year-old's best efforts it was to be Anderson’s night as a packed HBF Stadium saw the Scot claim the final title of a three week tour of New Zealand and Australia.
The World Series of Darts returns on October 20-21 as the inaugural German Darts Masters takes place at the Castello Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany.
FOLLOW LIVE SCORES IN THE MATCH CENTRE AT THIS LINK
The tournament is being screened live on Fox Sports and worldwide through the PDC's international broadcast partners, as well as in PDCTV-HD for Rest of the World Subscribers (outside of the UK, Ireland & Netherlands).
Coverage in the UK on ITV4 and on RTL7 in the Netherlands is delayed.
TABtouch Perth Darts Masters
Sunday August 27 (5pm local time, 10am BST)
Semi-Finals
Gary Anderson 11-9 James Wade
Raymond van Barneveld 11-10 Daryl Gurney
Final
Gary Anderson 11-7 Raymond van Barneveld
Best of 21 legs
TV Partners
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