PDC Darts: Michael van Gerwen beats Peter Wright in world final

Michael van Gerwen won the PDC World Championship after defeating Peter Wright on Wednesday.

The odds-on favourite, 24, from the Netherlands beat his Scottish rival - 19 years his senior - 7-4 at London's Alexandra Palace.

He lost only two legs in taking the first four sets but then withstood a thrilling fightback from Wright.

His first world title takes him to number one in the global rankings, ahead of the legendary Phil Taylor.

He lost last year's decider to 16-time world champion Taylor, who went out of this year's event in the early rounds.

But he made no mistake this time around despite a wobble after racing to a 4-0 lead.

He took the first set 3-1 including 13 treble 19s and won the next two without dropping a leg.

Wright, who had so far failed to make the most of his chances, hit back to take the fifth set 3-1.

He then took the next set 3-1 with some consistent scoring, while Van Gerwen looked like a different player with some poor combinations.

With the seventh set locked a 2-2, Wright then had a dart to reduce the deficit to one set but missed and the Dutchman made the most of it for a 5-2 lead.

The Scot, who lives in Mendham in Suffolk, then had three darts for double seven to level the next set at 2-2 but could not complete the finish, with Van Gerwen holing out to go one set away from his first world title.

But the man known as Snakebite was far from out of it and punished some poor finishing from Van Gerwen to take the next two sets 3-1.

Wright had the chance to make it 6-5 but missed double top at 2-2 and Van Gerwen stepped up to lift the title and £250,000 in prize money.