New world champion sets sights on MVG after brilliant victory
It’s been a long time coming but Peter Wright finally has a major title he can be proud of – and he did it the way he wanted, beating arch-nemesis Michael van Gerwen.
The new world champion had plenty to say for himself during his various post-final media commitments, but the admission of a new Snakebite finally delivering on the biggest stage, and righting a few doubts he had about himself was the most intriguing.
The 49-year-old has just one major title to his name, the 2017 UK Open, a tournament missed by Phil Taylor and Van Gerwen. He also had a pretty treacherous history with MVG before Wednesday’s showdown, losing all nine of the major finals the pair had played.
“Michael, or any other player, wasn’t playing that Peter Wright, they were playing this Peter Wright,” the 49-year-old said.
“It’s a different Snakebite – not the old one who used to bottle it, I’ve said that all tournament.”
Wright’s first major final was the 2014 World Darts Championship showpiece, a tournament he has frequently admitted would have been his last if he had not put in a good showing.
Van Gerwen won the final 7-4 to capture his first world crown but an invigorated Wright catapulted himself into the world’s top 10 and went about winning on a regular basis after that disappointment.
Only Gary Anderson, Phil Taylor and Van Gerwen have won more PDC titles than Wright’s 27. But big finals always eluded him, losing 12 of them in total and all too often denied by Van Gerwen.