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MICHAEL Smith was defeated 11-8 by Peter Wright in the final of the Melbourne Darts Masters.

The St Helens darter defeated Rob Cross 10-9 in yesterday's quarter final, to set up a semi-final clash with Gary Anderson which he won 11-5 earlier today.

Michael van Gerwen and Wright contested the other semi-final at Hisense Arena, with Scotland's finest beating the world number one 11-7.

Wright then became the fifth winner from five World Series events in 2018 and secured his second title on the PDC’s world tour, after victory in the German Darts Masters in 2017.

The Scot, who was beaten in the final by Phil Taylor in Melbourne a year earlier, claimed victory over Shanghai Darts Masters Champion Smith in a hard fought conclusion.

It was Smith’s second final on the World Series in 2018 but unlike in Shanghai the former World Youth Champion was unable to claim the title with a final victory.

“Fair play to Peter he deserved that. It was a tough match and he got the job done,” said Smith.

“It’s another final for me though and more proof that I’m getting to where I want to be, things are starting to improve and I’m happy.”

Michael Smith and Peter Wright. Picture: PDC/Ian Curry

The decider began with the pair trading holds of throw, with neither player able to make too much of a mark when their opponent threw first.

A 120 checkout to level in the sixth leg from Smith with Wright sat on tops to break, was the highlight of the opening exchanges.

The 2017 UK Open Champion squandered three darts at a double in the eighth leg to break the throw and take a 5-3 lead, allowing Smith to step in and level once more.

The holds of throw continued until late in the contest when in the 14th leg with Smith waiting on 60, Wright took out 130 on double five to break and lead 8-6.

Smith came straight back at Wright though, hitting a 180 before pinning tops to break straight back.

The crucial moment in the match came in leg 16 when another magical finish from Wright, this time a 131, broke the throw and handed control of the contest to the Scot.

The 48-year-old eventually sealed an 11-8 win and spoke of his delight to be back on the winner's podium.

“It wasn’t the best final ever in terms of averages and scores but it was a battle and I’m so happy to prove winning on the World Series in Germany last year wasn’t a fluke,” said Wright.

“I lost a bit of my confidence over the last few months and felt like I was getting smashed up by a lot of players and was really struggling with my game.

“Winning here feels great, I got to the final last year but couldn’t beat Phil so to go one better this year is a sign that I can start to turn things around."

The pair of Smith and Wright faced daunting challenges in their respective semi-finals with match-ups against Anderson and van Gerwen.

Like in the semi-final of the 2018 Premier League, Smith got one over on his mentor and friend Anderson, running out an 11-5 winner.

The 27-year-old averaged 100 and hit eight maximums on his way to victory in a match he controlled throughout.

Wright punished Van Gerwen for missing 14 darts at doubles and averaged 103.47 as he secured his place in the decider.

The final saw ‘Snakebite’ average 97, two points less than his opponent but the statistic that mattered read 11-8 in Wright’s favour.

In Saturday's last-eight ties, Smith won four legs on the spin to recover from 9-6 down to beat Cross.

The pair shared yet another classic encounter, reminiscent of their clash at the World Championship in December, this time with Smith coming out on top.

The start of the game was a story of hit and miss, Cross hitting his doubles and Smith missing his, with the World Champion taking an early 4-1 lead courtesy of a 150 finish.

Smith then pulled a leg back with a special finish of his own, taking out 132 on the bullseye to close the gap to two.

A strange passage of play followed with six consecutive breaks of throw with cross eventually then going on to lead 9-6 and look set to take his place in the last four.

Smith had other ideas though, taking out 120, 107, 99 and then 122 to claim a hugely impressive win.

“The last four legs were great, I couldn’t really ask for a better finish to a match," said Smith.

“I always believe, so I wasn’t too worried when I was behind but my finishes weren’t good enough at the start.

“I kept missing chances to level the match and putting in bad scores when it mattered but in the end it all came good.”

World Matchplay Champion Anderson overcame Damon Heta 10-7 in his quarter-final.

Heta had produced a shock of sorts the night before in beating best friend Kyle Anderson but was unable to repeat the performance against the Australian namesake.

Heta did manage to hold his own in the opening stages of the match, going in to the break trailing 4-3.

However, Anderson came out after the stoppage with the bit between his teeth racing in to an 8-3 lead and taking firm control of the match.

The Australian did manage to produce a comeback though, winning four of the next five legs to close the gap to two and give himself hope.

Anderson did then seal the deal in the next leg but spoke of his disappointment after the match.

“I got away with it a bit,” said an honest Anderson.

“Damon will be disappointed because he didn’t score as well as he did against Kyle but the boy can play.

“Michael and I obviously know each other very well but if I play as well as I can I win, if I don’t then it’s an early night for me.”

The Melbourne Darts Masters concludes on Sunday with the semi-finals taking place at the Hisense Arena before the decider is played out to crown a champion.

World number one Van Gerwen took on Australian favourite Simon Whitlock with the Dutch ace winning through despite trailing 8-4 at one point.

The match began with Van Gerwen looking the better of the two taking a 2-0 lead before Whitlock broke back to level.

At the break Van Gerwen lead 4-3 but the best was yet to come.

After returning to the stage Whitlock seemed rejuvenated winning five legs in a row including finishes of 120 and then 170 to take a 8-4 lead.

The Van Gerwen comeback then began as he clawed his way back to an 8-7 deficit and it was in the 16th leg where the real drama took place.

Whitlock began the leg with six perfect darts and looked poised to go a leg away from the win but five missed darts allowed the Dutchman to step in to break back and level the match.

Whitlock then missed a further three darts at a double in the 17th leg to once again go within a leg of the win as Van Gerwen pinned double one to lead 9-8.

The final leg of the match saw Whitlock miss a chance yet again and was punished by the two-time World Champion who booked his place in the semi-finals.

“I missed too many shots at doubles early on in the match and gave him the chance to take control,” said Van Gerwen who finished the match with a 37 percent success rate on the doubles.

“The crowd were with him tonight and I have to take that on the chin but it’s annoying when they don’t support me,” joked the 29-year-old.

Scot Wright made it to the semi-finals for the second time in as many years after beating Raymond van Barneveld 10-4.

Wright, who made it to the final of the inaugural Melbourne Darts Masters in 2017 where he lost out in the decider to Phil Taylor, got out of the gate quickly against Van Barneveld, taking a 3-1 lead.

Barneveld fought back to level at 3-3 with a 119 checkout on the bull but would go on to lose seven of the next eight legs as he bowed out of the tournament.

An average of 101.91, including six maximums rounded off a solid night at work for world number two Wright.

“I made it to the final here last year and lost to Phil but hopefully this time it will be my year in Melbourne,” said Wright after the victory.

The 48-year-old, notorious for regularly changing his darts, joked that he may use another new set up in the semi-finals.

“It depends how I feel when I wake up. If I sleep funny on my arm I might decide to use a completely different set of darts, it’s all about how I feel at the time.”

Today's results:

Semi-Finals:

Michael Smith 11-5 Gary Anderson

Michael van Gerwen 7-11 Peter Wright

Final:

Michael Smith 8-11 Peter Wright
All best of 21

Saturday's results:

Quarter-Finals:

Rob Cross 9-10 Michael Smith

Peter Wright 10-4 Raymond van Barneveld

Gary Anderson 10-7 Damon Heta

Michael van Gerwen 10-8 Simon Whitlock