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Paul Nicholson was denied victory in a dramatic final of the European Darts Trophy in Sindelfingen as he was edged out by Wes Newton on Monday evening after a brilliant run.

‘The Asset’ scooped the £10,000 runners-up prize but two missed darts at doubles proved the difference between winning the tournament, with Newton taking a 6-5 victory in Germany.

Nevertheless, Nicholson, who was also runner-up at the Dutch Darts Masters last year, can take great pride from his performances over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, which included an impressive semi-final victory over the new world number two Michael van Gerwen.

‘The Asset’ began his campaign in the PDC’s second European Tour event of 2013 with a 6-5 defeat of Belgian ace Ronny Huybrechts on Saturday.

He then went on to see off Colin Lloyd by the same score-line on Sunday after launching an incredible comeback from 5-1 down to reach the last 16.

There the Australian star fought off the challenge of Yorkshireman Dean Winstanley, winning 6-4, before progressing past Mark Webster in the quarter-finals.

Nicholson, the 2010 Players Champion, produced a fantastic performance in the last four to claim a 6-2 triumph against van Gerwen but narrowly missed out on victory in the deciding leg in the final.

“I’m so glad that I came to Germany,” said Nicholson, who is appearing at the Allstars of Andover later this year.

He told the PDC’s official website: “It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride this weekend but I set myself a goal when I came here and I put myself within touching distance of that.

“I’m very proud of myself but I’m feeling gutted right now because I had a shot to win the tournament, but I feel that this can kick-start my year now.”

van Gerwen’s run to the semi-final help him leapfrog Adrian Lewis in the Order of Merit to a career high second place.

Webster also enjoyed a fine run of results as he defeated the likes of Andy Hamilton and Ian White before losing out to Nicholson.

By Chris Murphy

Image courtesy of Carsten Arlt/PDC Europe

Remaining tickets for Friday’s Belfast Masters, featuring Michael van Gerwen, Raymond van Barneveld, Simon Whitlock and Brendan Dolan, are available from www.dartshop.tv – call 08450 180 180 for further information.