Ahead of the Champions League of Darts in Leicester this weekend, Peter “Snakebite” Wright spoke exclusively to Paddy Power News about his great form ahead of the tournament, his habit of changing his darts, and his plans for 2019 showdown of the world’s top eight players this weekend.
PADDY POWER CHAMPIONS LEAGUE OF DARTS
BRIGHTON CENTRE
BRIGHTON
PIC;LAWRENCE LUSTIG
GROUP GAME 3
PETER WRIGHT V ROB CROSS
PETER WRIGHT IN ACTION
Changing Darts
“I’m told to go back to this one dart every time I find myself out of form, and I did it this year and won two tournaments and had some fantastic averages, went 21 games unbeaten or something like that, so I do go back.”
“But I could wake up tomorrow and I could’ve slept wrong and it might be like I’m throwing spanners at the board.”
“I could change my mind ten minutes before a match and swap!”
“And even if I’m winning with a set, sometimes I’d just go off them. I get fed up of them and think, with another set of darts I could be better – it’s crazy really.”
“I change my darts more than I change my hair!”
“I’m always just trying to get a little bit better. You have to if you want to beat the best.”
Champions Challenge
“That’s especially true at a tournament like the Champions League. It’s a very difficult event to win, obviously, because you’ve the top eight players in the world there and playing over a very short space of time. It’s not going to be easy, is it? But I like the round-robin format. It’s really good because it gives you a chance and it’s a real challenge.”
“It’s a brilliant competition and especially when we’ve got the BBC involved, so people who don’t have other channels can see us play.”
“They love the darts too. I get loads of people saying I haven’t got the channels. At least when the darts are on the BBC everyone can watch. And they love it!”
“It’s brilliant. I’m delighted I’m that far up in the rankings to be involved in it. I can’t wait for this year. I’m really looking forward to it.”
PADDY POWER CHAMPIONS LEAGUE OF DARTS
BRIGHTON CENTRE
BRIGHTON
PIC;LAWRENCE LUSTIG
SEMI FINAL
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN V PETER WRIGHT PETER WRIGHT IN ACTION
Final Hurdle
“I got to the final last year. It was disappointing to get so close and not win, but my match in the semi-final against Michael van Gerwen totally drained me.”
“I was well behind him and fought back to get through to the final and then only had a short break before I was back on again, I didn’t get enough rest before the final against Gary Anderson.”
“He played brilliantly. of course, but hopefully this year I’m in the first semi-final!”
“I’m fed up of having all these runner-up prizes, I want that winner’s trophy in 2019.”
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