‘DON’T LUKE TO SMASH ME UP!’
PETER WRIGHT has a plan to stop Luke Littler adding another scalp to the stellar cast he has “smashed up” on his teenage rampage.
‘Snakebite’ meets Littler in the BETMGM Premier League at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena tonight, looking for his first point in the competition after three consecutive defeats.
And while the ‘Nuke’ (above) has beaten six world champions – Christian Kist, Raymond van Barneveld, Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price, Luke Humphries and
Michael van
Gerwen – since he announced his talent as a 16-year-old at Alexandra Palace two months ago, Wright (inset) believes he can prevent a seventh casualty.
Wright, 53, said: “I’m going to take his phone off him in the backroom so he can’t play games!
“I’m not worried about anyone else at all, but hopefully this old boy can still do it against Luke.
“When I was his age and I went to an exhibition to play one of the old pros, I had the attitude that ‘I’m going to smash you up’.
“That’s the sort of attitude that Luke has got right now, which is great.
“It will be nice to play him – I’ve seen what he has done to all the other top pros, but he hasn’t played me yet. Having said that, if I play like I did last week in Glasgow, he will beat me easily!”
Two-time world champion Wright, whose 2023 season was blighted by a series of health issues, admits he was forced to take stock of his career after his shock second-round exit against Jim Williams at Ally Pally.
But he said: “We’ve had lots of stuff to deal with as a family. But there are people out there in worse situations. Every time you switch on the news, some celebrity has passed away and you don’t know how long you’ve got on this planet.
“I just believe it will just come to get you when it’s ready, no matter how you keep fit, so I try to keep it in perspective.
“It is just a game of darts. Maybe years ago – when I didn’t win titles and kept losing in finals – it might have mattered.
“But now I’ve won titles and majors, so deep down I know I could have quite easily retired… but I’m not finished.”
Tonight’s games (7pm, Sky Sports): Michael Smith v Nathan Aspinall, Rob Cross v Luke Humphries, Peter Wright v Luke Littler, Gerwyn Price v Michael van Gerwen