Simon Whitlock sealed victory at the fifth UK Open Qualifier of the year in Wigan on Saturday with an impressive victory over Michael van Gerwen in the final.
The Australian Premier League Darts star scooped the £6,000 first prize, following Thursday’s triumph against Robert Thornton by defeating six opponents to take his tenth PDC Tour success.
‘The Wizard’ produced some moments of magic along the way, including coming back from 5-1 down to win 6-5 against Ian White in the quarter-finals, and the world number five was delighted with his latest triumph.
“This is one of the best wins I’ve ever had. I’m absolutely thrilled to bits,” Whitlock told the PDC’s official website.
“I had a bit of luck earlier on but I played really well in the final and I’m over the moon.
“At 5-1 down against Ian White you don’t expect to win, but I somehow pulled one out of the bag and got there. You need a little bit of luck sometimes and I got that today, and I just rode with it.
“I played solid darts in the final and I was very composed, and I was on a mission to win today.”
European Champion Whitlock claimed victories against Josh Payne and Terry Temple before a ten dart finish sealed a 6-5 triumph over Mark Walsh, which saw him reach the last 16.
There he saw off Ken MacNeil 6-2 before producing his stunning quarter-final comeback against White.
The Waterlooville-based star beat Peter Wright 6-4 in the semi-finals and went on to complete an excellent victory over world number two van Gerwen to clinch the title.
Whitlock raced into a four leg lead after punishing his Dutch opponent for a string of missed doubles.
‘Mighty Mike’ won the fifth leg but ‘The Wizard’ closed out victory by taking the last two to prevail with a 6-1 win, which included three 180s.
Whitlock will aim to repeat his success in Sunday’s event, UK Open qualifier 6, as the players continue to compete for places in June’s UK Open finals.
By Chris Murphy
Image courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC
