Wright claims Masters in Milton Keynes after dramatic final

A thrilling final reached an unpredictable climax at the Marshall Arena as Smith squandered three match darts in the deciding leg, before Wright kept his composure to hit double eight with his last dart in hand to seal further glory.

It was a maiden Masters triumph for Wright after claiming the World Championship crown on New Year's Day, securing back-to-back televised titles for the first time in his career.

"I'm a very lucky player tonight, Michael should've won that," admitted Wright, who pockets the £60,000 top prize.

"I've been in his position many times before, so I know how he's feeling and it's not nice.

"But, I'm obviously over the moon to win the first tournament of the year and hopefully there will be many more.

"I think my performance dipped at the end of the day, I started missing too many doubles so I need to cut that out.

"Overall, I'm really happy with how this weekend went and I'd like to thank the amazing crowd for making it another special night for me."

"Peter could've easily buried me earlier in the game but when I gave myself a chance I missed it again," said a frustrated Smith.

"I wanted it so much - I think I threw too hard at the doubles for the match, but when they left my hand they felt like they were going in.

"It's another runner-up trophy to add to my big collection but I'll get over it and tomorrow I'll be back on the board practicing double-top.

"It is a positive start to 2020, even though I'm feeling so disappointed right now, but I've got the Premier League and UK Open to look forward to around the corner."