Gary Anderson missed out on the big prize at the World Series Finals in Scotland.
The Unicorn man was beaten 11-6 by Michael van Gerwen but the Scot put up a terrific show against an inspired Dutchman.
It was a thrilling final, but Anderson couldn't quite lift himself as Van Gerwen won the World Series Finals for a third straight year in Glasgow.
Gary gave it a real go but will regret missing three darts at D16 to take the opening leg against the throw, only for Van Gerwen to nail a 103 finish.
Anderson stormed back with a pair of 180s and a 12 darter but Van Gerwen raced into a 4-1 lead at the break, hitting back-to-back 12 darters and a 130 check-out.
The Unicorn man battled back again to trail only 4-6 but he missed a hat-trick of doubles in consecutive legs and the Dutch ace won four legs on the spin to take him to the brink. Anderson got two legs back but a two-dart 87 finish handed Van Gerwen the title once again.
Anderson came from 1-4 down to take out Gerwyn Price 10-8 in a dramatic quarter-final. The Unicorn man fought back brilliantly and the turning point came in the 13th leg when he nailed a 167 finish to lead 7-6. He also produced a great 91 two dart finish under pressure to move 9-7 ahead before closing out the match.
In the all Unicorn semi-final, Anderson was too good for James Wade. For 4-1 up he dominated and hit six 180s along the way as he comfortably won 11-5. But Wade will take some positives out of the World Series weekend as he continues to rebuild for 2018.
So Dimitri van den Bergh's superb run ended in the quarter-finals. The Young Belgian paying for missed doubles in the all Unicorn clash with Wade. Dimitri missed six darts to open up a 4-0 lead and never really recovered as Wade's experience won the day. 'The Machine' took out 148, 122 and 120.
He went on to miss 28 darts at doubles, but still a fantastic weekend for Van den Bergh....a first big TV quarter-final, a cheque for £12,500 and valuable experience to take forward for the 23-year-old.
World Series Finals results:
Q/Finals:
James Wade 10-6 Dimitri van den Bergh
Gary Anderson 10-8 Gerwyn Price
Michael van Gerwen 10-4 Rob Cross
Daryl Gurney 10-7 Peter Wright
S/Finals:
Gary Anderson 11-5 James Wade
Michael van Gerwen 11-8 Daryl Gurney
Final:
Michael van Gerwen 11-6 Gary Anderson
By STUART PYKE in Scotland
Image courtesy Steve Welsh / PDC
