Runner up this time last year at the Champions League of Darts, the enigmatic Peter Wright believes he’s in a great place to go that one step further this time around and get his hands on the televised title. Snakebite has come a long way since his re-emergence into the sport back in 2005 after a 10-year hiatus and finally feels his on-stage persona is now fully accepted by fans and players alike.
“I’ve come a long way and it’s a fair old story looking back. I was close to never re-emerging again in the sport but with the support of my wife and her Dad, I gave it another shot coming back as Snakebite, what you see now. It wasn’t an easy thing but I didn’t want to be like everyone else. I wanted to be different.
“I was called a clown for many years by players and fans but this clown can play.”
“I think people have accepted me now and that this is me on stage. I’m happy in my life, in my game and I’m ready to go for the Champions League.
Happy and content is clearly paying dividends for Wright this year at the oche. The Scotsman recently broke a world record for the highest (non televised) average (123.5) at Players Championship 9 and has another world record in his sight too.
“I didn’t know anything about that until Krzysztof (Ratajski) said it to me. But it’s great. I’ll have to look for my next world record to beat now.”
“I think I’ll go for the 100-metre sprint this time!”
If things go well for Snakebite on the weekend there will be wild celebrations in the Wright camp. He doesn’t care about the money but he does have a plan if he finds himself lifting that trophy come Sunday night.
“If I win I’m going to have a cup of Yorkshire tea and then I’d want to go out and celebrate it with Dion Dublin. I get on really well with him, I met him and his family in Liverpool and he’s a lovely guy. I just did Question of Sport with him a few weeks ago.
“His show ‘Houses under the Hammer’ is on in the morning when I’m drinking my tea and obviously he used to play for Man United, Coventry, Aston Villa, Norwich. Yea, we’d have a good night out. I’ve always said if I get on Question of Sport – because I came up as a question once – I know I’ve made it in darts. And I have.
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