Now let me looseon Worlds
Former world champion confident of form in run-up to festive feast of darts after Minehead ‘floorboard- gate’, while rising star Borland set for debut at Ally Pally extravaganza
Peter Wright has backed himself to be crowned world champion for a second time when the PDC World Championship gets underway later this month.
The 51-year-old Livingstonborn ace won the Players Championship for the first time in his career last week and is confident he can take that form into the PDC World Championship, which get underway in a fortnight.
The flamboyant ‘Snakebite’ sealed his second major title of the season thanks to a thrilling 11-10 battle with Ryan Searle in the final in Minehead.
However, the title win was overshadowed by an unsavoury exchange on stage in his match against Adrian Lewis after fellow pro Lewis branded him a ‘cheat’ and saw the players pulled apart by officials.
The flare-up centred around Wright claiming there was a loose floorboard on stage during the game, and according to Lewis, the Scotsman then proceeded to put him off after ‘Jackpot’ had taken a 3-2 lead.
Wright has found his form this year after also picking up the World Matchplay title in July as well as having teamed up with John Henderson to guide Scotland to the World Cup of Darts trophy in September.
Following his victory, he commented: “The guys who normally do well in this tournament do okay in the next one, so it’s nice to do well in this one.
“Obviously I’ve got to back my big mouth up because when I said I’ll win the Matchplay, I was going to win the Worlds, so I’ve got to get back on the practice boards and make sure I’m sharp and back it up.
“Yes, I’ll be world champion come January 3.”
Wright has been drawn to face either Ryan Meikle and Fabian Schmultzer in the second round.
And he won’t be the only West Lothian player in the tournament as East Calder youngster Willie Borland is set to make his debut in the sport’s biggest tournament.
The 25-year-old has shown he can mix it with the best in the world over the past 12 months and has been rewarded with a place on the big stage. He will take on Bradley Brooks for the right to face
Searle in the second round.