Snakey full of venom with victory
PETER WRIGHT admitted he was gutted he missed out on breaking his Unibet Premier League average record in a big win over Nathan Aspinall.
The World Champion was back to his scintillating best with a crushing 7-3 win over in-form Aspinall in Exeter last night.
Snakebite delivered a venomous 110 average to blitz The Asp and roar back into contention for the league title.
He admitted: “I was really nervous. I’ve gone from a 20g dart to a 23 because of the weekend. But I think Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall are the best players in the world right now. We had a cracking game the other week and he’s fantastic.
“He had a couple of dodgy scores and let me in and I did OK.
“We are on the road so much, we forget about the previous match. If you think about it too much you go downhill. You just get up, kick yourself and you get back on the practice board and tomorrow’s a different day.
“That’s all it is, you don’t worry what you’ve done before. It’s all about what you can do in the future.
“I wanted to beat my record of 119 against Adrian Lewis, that’s how confident I felt.
“I expect myself to be at the O2 for finals night but this Premier League is just full of fantastic players, it’s hard work.”
World Youth Champ Luke Humphries sneaked past Gary Anderson 7-5 in a thriller, taking the win with a madhouse double one kill.
Cool Hand Luke became the first player to win as a Challenger in the Premier League at the 14th attempt. Ironically against Anderson, who’s withdrawal from the tournament a year ago prompted the introduction of the weekly wild card.
Humphries said: “I’ve never been so nervous in my life. I really wanted to be the first Challenger to win and I think I let it get to me.
“I feel like I’ve got a point to prove to everybody. I don’t really but I feel I do. After my World Championship appearances I feel I have to go out and play brilliant every time.
“That wasn’t the game where I thought the first Challenger would win. But sometimes those games that are not amazing, they are thrilling to watch because it’s nip and tuck.
“There’s an argument both ways about the Challenger concept. I know it’s previously been the elite top 10 players. But obviously I’m going to say it’s a good thing.
“But I do think it is a good thing because it brings out local players coming up to these arenas and giving their all. It’s not going to change your life but it’s going to help in the future for invitations to other events.
“I know I didn’t play my best game there, Gary definitely didn’t. But to be the first winner just proves we can do it and go up there and get wins against the very best players.
“I think that was an important game for Gary, he probably wanted to win more because he’s in that bottom four for the relegation.”
By Phil Lanning