World Darts Championship: Peter Wright to shake off ‘shy guy’ and turn into Snakebite for title defence

INTERVIEW
Champion: Peter Wright
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Each morning, Peter Wright has the same ritual of making a cup of coffee before contemplating the start of the day. 

In January, it was different, joined by Sid, as he puts it, the Sid Waddell Trophy taking pride of place at home in the immediate aftermath of his world title win, each day a sleepy reminder of finally having broken his hoodoo. 

“It’s funny but I’d be making that cup of coffee and I’d walk past Sid and it’d be like ‘oh, I’m world champion’,” he said nearly a year on. “And it’s funny because I just class myself a standard darts player. 

“I’m not saying I’m better than everyone else because I’m not. We’ve all got three darts in our hand and we can all beat each other on the day. That’s what so good about darts. As long as you’ve got your head right, you can beat anybody.” 

Inside the head had always been Wright’s weakness. Ten times he had reached major darts finals and 10 times lost, seven to Michael van Gerwen. His only previous tournament win, the 2017 UK Open, was without the world No1 in the field. 

But on New Year’s Day, he made van Gerwen look second rate in comfortably winning a first world title just two months shy of his 50th birthday. 

The psychological impact has been notable. Title three – the Masters – followed a month later, and title four, the European Championship, last month. 

Of his previous darts bete noir, Wright said: “I wanted to play Michael in that final. If I hadn’t people would have said ‘well, you wouldn’t have won it if Michael was there’. So I was glad to get the chance to get him back for all of those other finals.” 

Snakebite’s rivals

Michael van Gerwen: The favourite, having already banked £1.5million in 2020 but his build-up has been hampered by a back injury picked up in the shower with his wife.

Gerwyn Price: The player the crowd love to hate relishes the mix of boos and cheers but will need to find inspiration elsewhere.  

Michael Smith: On the precipice of a big title Smith has had four major finals in the past two years, and was runner-up in 2019. He's ranked fourth in the world.

Jose de Sousa: Nicknamed the Special One, he went from a kitchen fitter to 180 hitter in winning the Grand Slam of Darts to share his nickname with Jose Mourinho, who sent him a video message after the win.

Nathan Aspinall: He pushed Van Gerwen mightily close in the pair's opening five sets in their semi-final at last year's World Championship and his form in 2020 suggests he has the potential for a last-four spot.

Speaking over Zoom from a leather chair backed with sheep’s wool matching his current whitish-grey locks, a dartboard in the background with flashing Christmas tree lights, he readily admits it was all mental.  “I lost in many finals with Michael and threw away finals with missed doubles,” he said. “And he punishes you – that’s why he’s No1 in the world. He puts that pressure on to make you miss. 

“But on that day I knew it didn’t matter what he threw at me, I was going to win. I took all the negative bits out, threw them away, took all the positives and then just put all that in my head. That made me unbeatable.” 

It proved a remarkable turnaround for a player who had made a first world championship appearance back in 1995 in the BDO before walking away from the sport. 

He fell into odd jobs ranging from overnights in a warehouse to fitting tyres in the day as well as half a decade on the dole.

But watching the darts on television 13 years, his wife Jo suggested he give it another shot, which has paid off markedly with prize money in excess of £1million this year alone. 

“It will never change me just because I’m world champion – I’m just trying to get on with life,” he said, “but it shows if you’ve got a dream, follow it. You can do it, nothing can stop you.” 

It will never change me just because I’m world champion – I’m just trying to get on with life.

Peter Wright

In conversation, Wright looks in stark contrast to his oche persona in plain colours, his hair its natural colour. By tonight when he begins his title defence, it will be anything but.

The outfit – a Christmassy one – has been selected, so too the colour of his locks by his hairdresser wife. Both remain a secret but it is as vital preparation as hours of practice throwing darts. 

“Hopefully the Christmas outfit puts a smile on people’s faces after a miserable year,” he said. “It’s all about me getting into war, going into battle. It’s like it focuses me even more, I become Snakebite instead of Peter Wright the shy guy. And the world champion is ready to play darts and entertain.” 

Despite that inherent shyness, it is telling he has struggled without the two wins. All his wins in 2020 have come in front of spectators, albeit 250 in the case of the European Championship. 

“It’s been horrible for me personally, I’ve hated behind closed doors stuff,’’ he said. “I need a crowd to get that feedback to impress them or try to make them happy.” 

Snakebite will get his wish tonight with 1,000 fans at Alexandra Palace to impress but, after London was put into Tier 3, the rest of the tournament will be behind closed doors.   

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Fallon misses out on repeat

Fallon Sherrock was one of the stories of last year's World Championship when she became the first woman to win a match at the tournament.

Sherrock reached the third round but hopes were dashed of a repeat this year when she missed out to Deta Hedman, who booked her spot in the main draw along with Lisa Ashton, who won a PDC Tour card in 2020.

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