PETER OUT!
Defending champ Wright sent packing by outsider
LIVE AND LET DYE ’Snakebite’ Wright went out to ‘German Giant’ Gabriel Clemens
PULL down the tree, stuff that tinsel back in the box and turn off the fairy lights.
Peter Wright’s reign as world champion crashed and burned at eerily empty Alexandra Palace with a shock 4-3 defeat by 100-1 German outsider Gabriel Clemens.
In the good old days on these shores, we only used to lose penalty shoot-outs against our sporting cousins from the Fatherland.
But the malaise has spread from England to Scotland, and when it came down to the last leg of a classic upset, it was ‘Snakebite’ Wright who blinked first.
When Wright came back from the brink to force a final set after trailing 2-1 and 3-2, it looked as if he would pull off the greatest escape to victory since Bobby Moore and Pele.
Yet despite averaging 101.50 and hitting nine maximum 180s, the No.2 seed missed 30 of his 44 darts at a double.
And it turned out to be the worst night for a reigning champion at Ally Pally since Phil Taylor was turfed off his throne in the third round by Michael Smith seven years ago.
Clemens, the first German to reach last 16 of the William Hill PDC World Championship, could hardly believe his luck, gasping: “This is definitely the greatest night of my darts career.
“I was playing against a great champion. I know I’m a lucky man because he missed so many doubles in the early sets. But I’m proud of myself.”
Wright, 50, endured a year as the invisible world champion, confined to barracks by Covid instead of embarking on a global tour with rock-star garnish.
Instead of milking the crowds like a dairy maid from New York’s Madison Square Garden, he was playing competitive darts on the internet in his living room.
And instead of exhibition nights up and down the country, he was building a chicken run for his 100 hens.
During the spring lockdown, he put up world No.9 Dimitri van den Bergh as a house guest in Suffolk, which left ‘ Snakebite’ pondering a strange dichotomy.
After Van den Bergh’s 4-0 rout of Jermaine Wattimena yesterday, ‘ Snakebite’ knew he could be ringing in 2021 as the new No.1 in the rankings if he retained his crown. Now he has lost to Clemens, he may not even be the best player in his own house in 2020.
At first it followed the script, Wright taking the opening set with little fuss, but inexplicably his game fell to pieces.
The German Giant, sensing blood, went 2- 1 ahead and missed two darts for a 3-1 lead until Wright stopped the rot.
But just when Wright appeared to be back on track, Clemens produced stunning 144 and 126 checkouts to go 3-2 up. And when it all boiled down to the last leg, Clemens produced double 16 at the first time of asking.