SUPER THORNTON TAKES FIRST EURO CROWN
Thornton was back to his best on the final day as he defeated Jelle Klaasen and second seed James Wade before defeating Huybrechts 6-2 in the final to take the £25,000 top prize at the Maritim Hotel.
After beating Simon Whitlock in the afternoon session, Thornton was dealt a tough quarter-final draw as he matched up with Jelle Klaasen who was looking to continue his stunning form of late after winning last weekend^s Players Championship event in Wigan.
The Scot started well, kicking off with an 11-darter en route to opening up a 4-1 lead, before Klaasen found his form and took the next three legs to level. Thornton would regain his composure though as he took the final two legs to wrap up a 6-4 win and end the recent dominance of the Dutchman.
And things would not get any easier for the 47-year-old as he matched up with James Wade in the semi-finals, who was heading into the match on the back of an impressive 6-3 win over Vincent van der Voort.
But Thornton would make light work of his opponent as he produced the performance of the weekend, averaging 111.77 and landing four maximums during a 6-1 demolition of The Machine, landing an 11-darter and two 12-dart legs during the stunning victory.
And Thornton^s form would not desert him in the final as he stormed into a 3-0 lead against Huybrechts, before quickly extending that to 5-2 and finishing with a flourish, taking out 116 - his highest checkout of the match - in the final leg to secure the landmark success, averaging 106.18 in the process.
"I came into the tournament and I wasn^t really under any pressure because when I come to these European events I^m normally knocked out on the Saturday afternoon!" said Thornton.
"I^ve got to put the win down to my wife, she calls me a little Pit Bull Terrier and says that I never give in and I proved that tonight.
"I lost my mum last year and I thought to myself ^calm yourself down and go and play darts^ but that wasn^t working. I^m a better player when I show my emotions and it^s taken a couple of months for it to come out but I played well."
Huybrechts also enjoyed a tough route to the final as he survived a resurgence from Brendan Dolan to win 6-3 in the quarter-finals before then stunning world number one Michael van Gerwen to book his place in the final.
The Hurricane produced a fine display, dominating the clash against a below-par van Gerwen for long periods and running out an impressive 6-3 victor to reach his second European Tour final.
The next PDC European Tour event will be the European Darts Trophy, to be held in Mulheim, Germany from September 11-13 and streamed live through www.LIVEPDC.TV and a series of bookmakers^ websites. Ticket information is available at www.pdc-europe.tv.
Evening Session (7pm - 11pm local time, 6pm - 10pm, BST)Quarter-Finals
Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-3 Alan Norris
Kim Huybrechts (13) 6-3 Brendan Dolan (5)
James Wade (2) 6-3 Vincent van der Voort
Robert Thornton (11) 6-4 Jelle Klaasen
Semi-Finals
Kim Huybrechts (13) 6-3 Michael van Gerwen (1)
Robert Thornton (11) 6-1 James Wade
Final
Robert Thornton (11) 6-2 Kim Huybrechts (13)