Peter Wright defeats Gerwyn Price in Players Championship 2 final to close on world No 1 spot | Darts News

Two-time world champion Wright defeats Price 8-5 in Barnsley, while Michael van Gerwen suffers a shock third-round loss against Stephen Burton; Watch night two of the Cazoo Premier League live on Thursday from 7pm on Sky Sports Action

Peter Wright continued his impressive start to the year with victory in Barnsley

Peter Wright continued his sensational start to 2022 by winning Players Championship 2 in Barnsley on Sunday, defeating Gerwyn Price in the final.

Three days on from winning the opening night of the Premier League, the two-time World Champion opened his ProTour title account for the year with an 8-5 win over Price.

Wright, who also reached the semi-finals at Players Championship 1 on Saturday, continued his fine form to land his 43rd PDC title. The win would have been enough to see Wright move into the world No 1 spot for the first time, had it not been for Price progressing beyond the quarter-finals.

“I’m very happy to get the win today, especially against a player of the class of Gezzy,” Wright said. “I wasn’t thinking of becoming world No 1 until at least March but if I knuckle down and win tournaments I might get there sooner.

“Yesterday I felt great and thought I was going to win. Today my darts were going in at strange angles so I swapped to my old ones, so I don’t know which darts I’m going to use on Thursday night!”

Wright began the day with a 6-5 win over Alan Soutar, before victories over Lewy Williams and Eddie Lovely followed. Wright then averaged 101.36 in a win over Lee Evans, before a 6-4 defeat of Rob Cross and a 104.58 average in a 7-3 semi-final victory over Damon Heta.

A gripping final between the world’s top two saw Price take the lead on two occasions at 3-1 and 5-4, only for Wright to battle back to lead 6-5. Wright produced a 121 checkout on the bullseye to take a 7-5 lead, before sealing the win with a 14-dart leg.

Elsewhere, Ian White hit a nine-dart leg in a 6-3 loss to Mensur Suljovic in round one, while Michael van Gerwen’s struggle for form continued as he suffered a third-round defeat to Stephen Burton.

Luke Humphries secured his maiden senior ranking title with a superb 8-4 defeat of Ryan Searle in Saturday’s Players Championship 1 final in Barnsley. The 2022 PDC ProTour season continues with Players Championships 3 and 4 on February 12-13 at the Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan.

Humphries was a runner-up in three ProTour finals and at the UK Open in 2021

When is Wright next in action?

Night two of the Cazoo Premier League season takes place on Thursday at the M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool, with Wright up against Van Gerwen and Price facing Gary Anderson. Defending champion Jonny Clayton plays Michael Smith and James Wade takes on Joe Cullen.

The Premier League is following a radical new format this season, with each night will now feature a mini-tournament of quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final. Wright defeated Clayton in the final during night one in Cardiff last week.

Check out daily Darts news on skysports.com/darts, our app for mobile devices and our Twitter account @skysportsdarts. We’re back for more Premier League action from the M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool next Thursday from 7pm on Sky Sports Arena.