Wright says No More Mr Nice Guy
Peter Wright has vowed there will be no more Mr Nice Guy to land a unique Scottish darting double.
The Livingston ace will take on Michael van Gerwen in the final of the William Hill World Championship tonight (New Year’s Day) - a re-match of their 2014 clash.
But Snakebite, who was involved in stage aggro with Gerwyn Price during their semi, has revealed that his oche mates have been urging him to be more ruthless to land the big one.
He said: “My friend Peter Evison sends me the odd text saying 'You've got to be more ruthless' and I got one from Barney this morning telling me, 'No more Mr Nice Guy' and he was right – I ended up being Not Mr Nice Guy.
“Maybe have been too nice in the past – although I don't like being nasty.
“Maybe I thought you can't go out there, dancing like a clown, and then be a horrible and nasty.”
Six years ago Van Gerwen landed his first world title by wiping out Wright in the early stages of the Ally Pally showpiece.
In fact in head-to-head TV finals, Wright has an atrocious record of losing all 10 to the dominant Dutchman.
Snakey has also missed darts to beat MVG in the Premier League and Champions League finals which has led to the Dutchman calling him a ‘bottler’.
Wright hit back: “This is a fantastic chance to prove that's wrong. If people want to talk about bottle, I could have gone out in the first round again – but I produced six darts to keep me in the tournament and now those six darts have taken me all the way to the final.
“Why are they scared of him? He's playing rubbish! I'm not worried about how many titles he's won – I'm more worried about how many titles I've lost.
“But this tournament is totally different to every other tournament out there. This matters the most because it turns your life around.
“You don't get any easy rounds here now. And I should know.
“My last final here was a long time ago – I didn't have the same set-up, MVG had been in the final the year before so he had the experience and I wasn't ready to be world champion in 2014... but I'm ready now.
“In early December, Michael and I were playing at an exhibition in Germany and I told him, 'See you in the final at Ally Pally' – because I knew, in my mind, I was ready for it.
“He was saying that Gerwyn Price was second favourite and I told him, 'I should be second favourite.' So I've proved a point – I'm in the final.
“This is a totally different game. Someone is going to have to play well to beat me because I've got the game and I've got the focus. Gezzy made me focus and it served me well.”
What is intriguing is that while MVG has the history on his side, Wright is certainly playing better in this tournament.
Their averages may be similar of a shade over 98 and finishing also at 44 per cent apiece. But Wright has smashed in 57 180s compared to Van Gerwen’s 27 and 15 ton-plus finishes, with the Dutchman only taking out nine big ones.
Wrighty also has an eye on making it into the Scottish darting hall of fame and making it an even better New Year of celebration for the Dartan Army.
It would also deliver a unique double for Scotland taking the World Cup and World Championship in the same year.
He added: “It would be nice to be up there with Jocky Wilson, Gary Anderson and Les Wallace as the only Scots to pick up the world championship trophy. It would be extra-special after winning the World Cup with Gaz. Now let's do this one.”
By Phil Lanning (@lannomedia)
Photography courtesy of Taylor Lanning (@taylanningpix)