Finally it’s all White on a European night!
It was a case of third time lucky for Team Unicorn ace Ian White who has won the European Darts Grand Prix.
 
After losing back-to-back Euro Tour Finals to Michael van Gerwen, White finally got over the line on a dramatic night in Germany.
 
He survived a match dart to beat Peter Wright 8-7 to claim a second European tour title in Sindelfingen.
 
“I am thrilled,” he said. “I have been playing really well and Peter was back to his very best. It is a relief to get over the line but I feel I can really kick on from here.”
 
It did look like the Unicorn man was heading for a third straight European Final defeat as Wright took out 104 to break throw, lead 7-6 and throw for the match. But after Wright had missed one dart to win, White hit back and held his nerve to win the deciding leg on D16.
 
White hit a 170 finish in the final and it got a bit edgy after he missed a chance to go 4-1 up, however he found the big shots when he needed them to take the title.
 
His run to the final included a blistering 111 average to win an all Unicorn affair against Keegan Brown 6-3, victory in a Unicorn quarter-final 6-1 against Jeffrey de Zwaan, then a comeback semi-final win to edge out Steve Beaton 7-5.
 
In fact, he actually came close to falling at the first hurdle! In yet another all Unicorn showdown, Dimitri van den Bergh missed match darts in a deciding leg.
 
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De Zwaan had finally managed to beat Rob Cross before firing in a 106 average in a 6-4 last 16 win over Michael Smith as his stock continued to rise. The young Dutch star has now rocketed into the elite of World's Top 32 on the PDC Order of Merit.
 
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And it was a good European Tour debut for Mark McGeeney. He took out Josh Payne, then won a deciding leg in an all Unicorn clash with Joe Cullen. His run was ended 6-4 by Jamie Hughes in the last 16.
 
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Meanwhile Team Unicorn’s Cameron Menzies was a winner on the latest weekend of the PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour in Wigan.
 
The Scot was a 5-2 winner over Andrew Gilding in event six.
 
The other players to secure victories were Darren Beveridge, Spain’s Jesus Noguera and Stephen Burton.
 
Photo credit - Jonas Hunold/PDC Europe
 
Story by STUART PYKE
 
Posted in Unicorn Darts