WRIGHT AIMS TO BE GREATEST SCOT

PETER WRIGHT vows he can overtake Jocky Wilson and Gary Anderson to be Scotland’s greatest-ever player. 

The Livingston-born ace wants to become the oldest PDC World Champion and go on to win FIVE titles before he quits. 

Snakebite, 53, faces Welshman Jim Williams in the second round tonight of the Paddy Power World Championship (Weds) at the Ally Pally bidding for a third crown in London in five years.

Legend Wilson, Anderson and Wright have all won two titles and he said: “I’d like to be the first to get to three. But Gary’s on form at the moment and hopefully I can just sneak around the back, no one will notice me and I’ll pick up he trophy. That’s my plan. 

“I want more before I retire. I’m going to win it again, I’ll win it five times before I retire. That’s before I go over to the Seniors. I’ve got another three to go.

“I’m going to wait to the money goes up first. If it goes up to a million and if I have retired, I’ll start playing again!”

Phil Taylor remains the oldest PDC champ at 53 when he last won in 2013. Wright still believes that he and Anderson can rack up more titles despite both of them going past The Power’s age of glory. 

He added: “Personally I just think it’s down to your preparation. As long as you are mentally right and ready for it. Eat healthily leading up to it, you can compete with the youngsters. They throw so fast these days, they don’t look like they are even aiming. It least I go up and look like I’ve aimed!

“I’ve got to the final three times and knowing you have to play darts for up to two hours potentially. You’ve got to be mentally fit to do that. 

“You can’t practice that at home or your local club. You can’t practice what you go through on stage. If you could bottle it up, take it and learn from it. You can’t learn any of it until you’ve experienced it. 

“If I go and win it this year and Gary doesn’t, that will inspire him to go and win it next year. I know that will be a little target to come and match me. 

“If he beats me in the quarters and he goes and wins it then I’ll make sure I come back and equal his three titles!

“To talk about matching Eric Bristow or Raymond van Barneveld and overtake Jocky is really weird. 

“When I used to watch it maybe 10 years back, Phil was absolutely fantastic. Michael van Gerwen coming in, Gary Anderson fantastic, Adrian Lewis playing awesome. 

“All them guys there playing out of their skin all the time, how could you compete with these guys? Then I managed to get up there in between them just as a nobody.

“These were guys I’d looked up to and felt I could upset them now and again. Not all the time because I don’t take it serious and I still don’t.

“I look around me now and there’s no one that is dominant anymore. Yes Luke Humphries has had a run at the moment. But watch when he’s got to start defending money. 

“I’ve got a lot more to give and I can beat all the guys around me if I put the right practice in. There’s no one outstanding anymore.”

Wright will have a special outfit lined-up as usual for his opening encounter. He has previously dressed as The Grinch and Santa. But despite it usually backfiring with a poor performance, he has vowed to continue the trend. 

He added: “Maybe in the back of my mind, it’s like ‘should I be doing this on the first day?’

“That’s me. If I win I win, if I lose I lose by dressing up, it’s one of those things. 

“I could just go there in one of my boring tops and trousers and play brilliant. But I decide to put that little bit of pressure on myself. 

“But people tune in to see what I look like every year. Even the negative people to see what that idiot looks like. But they still tune in.”

Wright also disagrees with Gerwyn Price’s claim that the Worlds should be shared around globally and not just at the Ally Pally. 

He said: “I don’t know, it’s potentially a good thing. But then I don’t know whether it would work. Then you wouldn’t have that special feeling when you are going up the hill. The special place of the World Championship. 

“Going up there onto that massive stage, would you be able to get that massive stage and get that sort of atmosphere. You could lose that special feeling. Deep down it should stay where it is.”

Images by Taylor Lanning.