Wright Gunning for MVG to become World No.1

Pumped-up Peter Wright admits he is aiming to bring down Michael van Gerwen to become World No.1. Snakebite lines-up against Alan Norris tonight (Friday) in his first event of 2018 following a disappointing exit at the World Championships. Wright, hampered by a gallstones scare on the eve of Ally Pally, saw his Worlds dreams KO’d by Jamie Lewis. But the plucky star is raring to go even better this year. He revealed: “My health is fine at the moment. “The doctors are happy with my diet and I'm not having pains at the moment so I'm trying to keep on doing what I'm doing now. “Hopefully I'll be okay and not need an operation in the future. I've been practising a lot better than I could before the World Championship and putting a lot more time in on the board, and I'm up for it. “I've been looking at changing a few things and I've found a set-up which I think I can be successful with this year. “My target is to win 20-plus tournaments this year and I want to be number one in the world. There's no point in resting on my laurels, I'm going to chase Michael van Gerwen.” Reigning champion Van Gerwen begins his bid to win a fourth successive title on Saturday night as the first round concludes with the remaining four matches. The World No1 is unbeaten on stage at Arena MK since the tournament's move to Milton Keynes in 2015, and the odds-on pre-tournament favourite takes on Kim Huybrechts to begin his challenge in this year's event. He said: “It would be wonderful to win this tournament again, but I can't look that far ahead yet. “It's a fantastic tournament and it's important for every player because we all want to start the year well and this is the first one. “I've had a break and I'm feeling good, and I'm looking forward to playing again. I think I'm still in good form and I showed that in the World Championship, but I've got to make sure I prepare for every game." The £200,000 tournament concludes on Sunday, with the quarter-finals in the afternoon session being followed by the semi-finals and final in the evening session. Schedule of Play Friday January 26 (7pm), ITV4 First Round Dave Chisnall v Raymond van Barneveld Mensur Suljovic v Michael Smith Rob Cross v Ian White Peter Wright v Alan Norris By Phil Lanning (@lannomedia) Photography courtesy of Chris Sargeant