Robert Thornton has held his nerve to register a 5-4 victory over Michael van Gerwen in a thrilling World Grand Prix final in Dublin.
The 48-year-old began poorly against Van Gerwen, the defending champion, but he soon found his groove to move into a 2-1 advantage.
The final, which included 27 maximums, continued to go back and forth, with Van Gerwen showing his class to remain in touch with Thornton, who kept responding as he targeted a third Major title.
After Thornton edged into a 4-3 advantage, Van Gerwen began to suggest that he would finish the contest the stronger of the two, but in the decider, it was Thornton who would capitalise on mistakes from the world number one.
Van Gerwen missed chances in legs three and four of the ninth set to wrap up victory, leaving Thornton to twice hit double 20 to secure the biggest triumph of his career after previously winning the World Masters and UK Open.
Darren Plant
