Darts: Peter Wright must put on a strong display on front of home Glasgow crowd
Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright has been a mainstay of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) Premier League for over ten years now.
The Scotsman will make his much anticipated return to the Scottish stage as the Premier League arrives in Glasgow.
The OVO Hydro will play host to one of Darts’ biggest competitions, with the overall winning bagging a whopping £275,000, as well as the winner of each week grasping an extra £10,000.
With his wacky Mohican hairdo’s, bewildering choice of outfits, and of course that infamous walk on dance to Pitbull anthem “Don’t Stop The Party” it is safe to say that he has become a fans legend of the sport we all love.
However, Wright’s inclusion in the 2024 Premier League has been heavily questioned by some of the arrow throwing lovers hardcore.
Looking at results and standings, it would be a fair analysis to conclude that Snakebite’s form has tailed off since his triumphs at the 2020 and 2022 World Championships.
However, in contrast to that, in this year’s PDC World Championships, Peter Wright was embarrassingly knocked out in a 3-0 whitewash in the very first round of the tournament.
Wright was the highest seeded player to be eliminated in the first round, losing to Jim Williams who was unseeded.
Despite a green grinch-like t-shirt and the top of his trousers embellished with “ho-ho-ho” there wasn’t a Christmas miracle for the Livingston born dart player who managed just four out of 18 darts at double – averaging 83 along the way.
After such a disappointing tournament, Wright, who is renowned for changing his darts on a regular basis, was looking to the Premier League as a regular weekly platform to try and raise his game back to its best.
However, it really hasn’t gone to plan for the 53-year-old. Wright has been knocked out in the first match of both nights of the Premier League so far losing to Robb Cross and Luke Humphries.
In week one, he averaged just 83, which at the level of the Premier League, is rarely an average enough to defeat the best players in the world.
Heading into week three, it is imperative that Peter Wright finds some form in the tournament – not only to ensure that he regains some confidence, but to ensure that his status as one of the best players in world darts stops slipping.
Not only that, it is also imperative that Wright displays a strong enough game to keep himself in contention for selected tournaments such as friendlies and this – the Premier League.
If his form were to maintain at this lower level, he probably wouldn’t be in contention for losing his tour card, however, on a personal level he would miss out on a lot financially – and the fans would miss his showmanship.
Snakebite will be hoping to use the advantage of having a Scottish home crowd behind him to display a better performance than what he has given his loyal supporters so far this year.
