ADRIAN GRAY claimed victory over Yuji Eguchi in the final of the year's first stage of the 2014 DARTSLIVE - THE WORLD Soft Darts World Championship in Macau.
PDC star Gray, a two-time major quarter-finalist, made the idea start to the DARTSLIVE season with victory at Fisherman's Wharf, finishing sixth in the opening shoot-out phase of the event.
He then overcame Japanese ace Morihiro Hashimoto 3-2 in the quarter-finals and saw off top Croatian Boris Krcmar 3-1 in the semi-finals, before repeating that scoreline in the decider.
"I'm overjoyed," said the Hastings thrower. "I played well throughout the day; I had several 3-2 matches, but played very steady [and] my confidence is back.
"I want to concentrate as much as I can now on soft-tip darts this year, and I want to thank my family and friends for all the support."
Stage Two of DARTSLIVE - THE WORLD Soft Darts World Championship will be held on June 15 in France, with further stages to be held in China on August 17, Japan on September 28 and in the USA on November 1, before the top eight players progress to compete in the decisive SUPERDARTS finals series.
For more details and entry information, please visit http://darts-theworld.com/en/schedule.
DARTSLIVE - THE WORLD
Soft Darts World Championship
Stage One - April 5 2014
Fisherman's Wharf, Macau, China
Last 16: Shingo Enomata, Norhisame, Scott Kirchner, Hideki Aizono, Jesus Noguera, Royden Lam, Leung Chun Nam, Woonghee Han
Quarter-Finalists: Morihiro Hashimoto, Adrian Ray, Thanawat, Richie Van Deursen
Semi-Finalists: Christian Perez, Boris Krcmar
Runner-Up: Yuji Eguchi
Winner: Adrian Gray
Final - Leg-By-Leg
Adrian Gray v Yuji Eguchi
701/Cricket/Cricket/701/Choice. Alternate starts
0-0 - Eguchi wins the bull and throws first.
1-0 - With 62 left, Eguchi hits S12 to give himself a shot at the bull to win the leg which he misses, Gray makes no mistake finishing 77 with S9, S18, bull. Averages are Gray 116.8, Eguchi 110.8.
2-0 - Gray starts off with a seven mark in cricket, follows it with another seven mark and then a white horse (three separate trebles) to take the second leg comfortably with a 7.00 average and 212 points to Eguchi's below par 4.67 average and 108 points.
2-1 - Eguchi wins the second game of cricket with 292 points and a 6.60 average to Gray's 5.50 average and 279 points.
3-1 - Gray starts first but it's Eguchi who has a chance to tie the match after hitting four hat tricks (150's) in a row, but with 101 left the Japan player misses a vital bull to leave himself on 40. Also with 101 left, Gray steps up to hit bull, S17, D17 for victory and his first win on the soft-tip circuit. Final averages are Gray 116.8 and Eguchi 132.2.
DARTSLIVE - THE WORLD Soft Darts World Championship
2014 Schedule
Stage One - Macau (April 5)
Stage Two - France (June 15)
Stage Three - China (August 17)
Stage Four - Japan (September 28)
Stage Five - USA (November 1)