Snakebite is Wright on time

PETER WRIGHT once promised himself he would be a world champion by the time he was 50.

And the hourglass was down to the last grains of sand when he beat Michael van Gerwen 7-3 to land his maiden William Hill PDC World Championship crown at Ally Pally. Victory saw him shed the perennial ‘bridesmaid’ tag and finally land a big one after losing 12 of his 13 previous televised finals, 10 of them against Dutch nemesis Van Gerwen.

The £500,000 cheque will keep him in warpaint, hair gel and snazzy trousers for ever and ‘Snakebite’ (left) said: “When I started playing, I promised myself I would win a world title by the time I’m 50.

“During the night before the final, I woke up suddenly and thought, ‘I’m 50 in March, so I’d better do something about it and win it this year.’ It would’ve been annoying to look back and find myself cast as the greatest runner-up.

“Jimmy White and Colin Montgomerie were known as the best players never to win the big one in their sports and I thought, ‘I’m not going to be one of them.’

“People ask me if this will change my life but it’s not the money. From now on, I get the ‘world champion’ thing.”

Wright’s jackpot catapults him leagues away from his previous life as a skint blue-collar worker who struggled to stay above the breadline.

He said: “When I was younger, I ended up on the dole for near enough five years, going in and out of jobs, and it was terrible.

“I did tyre fitting, ground working, window fitting, labouring...think of a horrible job and I’ve probably done it.

“Now I’ve won the world title, I will still be the same person...the shy guy.”