Michael Smith hit a nine-dart finish to beat Michael van Gerwen and win the World Championship.
The classic final was won by Smith.
The fourth seed hit a nine-dart finish in the second set after Van Gerwen missed a double 12 for a perfect leg.
As a result of his win, the 32-year-old is the new world number one.
Van Gerwen was the favorite going into the final but was unable to win the title he last won.
He has finished runner-up at the World Championship three times, including in the last two years.
Van Gerwen had not lost a set in his previous five matches.
Smith won the biggest win of his career when he beat the Dutch in the final.
It took something special to end Van Gerwen's 14-set winning streak after he took the opener in the final.
The third leg of the second set started with a maximum from Van Gerwen and a 180 from Smith.
Van Gerwen's shot at double 12 was close to being missed.
Adrian Lewis hit a nine-dart finish in the World Championship final in 2011.
Smith took the seventh set after losing the first two legs and going 4-3 up.
He opened up a lead of more than one set for the first time in the match, and he held on despite a late flurry from Van Gerwen.
Both men had three-dart averages of 100 and Smith had 22 of them.
Smith emerged onto the scene at the highest level with an upset victory over 16-time world champion Phil Taylor.
Before winning the Grand Slam of Darts in November, he had been one of darts' nearly men with several defeats in major televised finals.
Smith is the 11th different player to win the world championship.
He is the fifth Englishman to win the title.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
