Mensur Suljovic: I kissed the BBC reporter when he said I was through

He had to bat off Peter Wright all game, but Mensur Suljovic is the first player to advance to the semi-final of the Champions League of Darts.

The Austrian 10-7 victory over Peter Wright sent Simon Whitlock crashing out of the tournament, as Snakebite will play a winner-takes-all shootout with Rob Cross tomorrow.

The defending champion averaged a whopping 105.53 in the contest and can afford to put his feet up in a dead rubber against Whitlock in his final group game.

Suljovic couldn’t contain his joy at the result and admitted he had a chat with himself to steady to ship in his game against Wright.

“I’m so happy, I really am to beat Peter Wright. It was a hard game, but I started good by going up 4-1,” said the Gentle One.

“Then I saw Peter come back to 5-5 and I said to myself ‘please Mensur focus on your own game and you’ll win it’.

“My scoring and finishing was okay, I had nothing to lose and I only had to give my best. Every time you feel your game is good, that really helps you up there.”

The 2017 Champions League of Darts was so laser-focused he didn’t know he’d qualified for the knockout phase and a poor, unsuspected BBC reporter got more than he bargained for when he told him.

“I didn’t even now I was playing in the semi-final until the BBC reporter told me!”

I kissed him I was so happy, sorry I have a wife but I did it anyway.

“This group was very hard, but I did my best and I’m in the semis now.”