GLEN DURRANT has been basking in the ‘biggest success’ of his career after he was crowned Unibet Premier League Darts champion on a dramatic night at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena.

The Teessider, who is a three-time Lakeside World champion, survived four missed match darts to scrape past Gary Anderson in a dramatic semi-final.

And his nerve was tested again in a tense final with Nathan Aspinall that saw a crucial 127 checkout pave the way to an 11-8 triumph that secured easily the biggest pay day of Durrant’s career.

The 49-year-old pocketed a £25,000 league winner’s cheque when he became only the third player to top the Premier League’s group phase, and landed £250,000 when he triumphed on finals night.

However, while the money might be welcome, it is the knowledge that he has earned his place at darts’ very top table that matters most to Durrant.

‘Duzza’ readily admits he questioned how far he could go when he made the decision to leave the BDO and switch to the PDC, and having been selected to compete in the Premier League at the start of the year, he worried he might end the campaign on zero points.

Instead, he was the stand-out performer during the group stage, and stepped up again to land one of the biggest prizes in darts.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Durrant, who is the sixth player to be crowned Premier League champion and the first debutant winner since Michael van Gerwen in 2013. “This supersedes everything I’ve achieved before. I feel like the best player in the world and I’ve never had that feeling before.

“I’m feeling absolutely fantastic, I’m ecstatic. This means an awful lot to my family, friends and supporters. It’s a mammoth achievement and it makes my move over to the PDC worthwhile.

“The game against Gary will go down as one of the worst games in Premier League play-offs history but I knew I couldn’t play that badly twice. I stepped my game up massively for the final and I knew I had to, to beat Nathan, who will go on to achieve many great things in darts.”

The opening 12 legs of the final were all won on throw, but ‘Duzza’ punished five missed doubles from Aspinall to go 8-6 up. A 127 checkout extended Durrant’s lead, before the North-Easterner closed out the win on his favourite double 16.