Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SNAKE THAT
Wright gets revenge on Price for his pre-match wind-ups
PETER WRIGHT goes through 48 colourful outfits and mohawk hair sculptures in a year – and his first of 2020 could be the emperor’s clothes.
In a poor contest with more needle than a tattoo parlour, ‘Snakebite’ Wright reached his second William Hill PDC World Championship final with a 6-3 win over Gerwyn Price.
And as ‘The Iceman’ became the latest victim of global warming in the Alexandra Palace hothouse, Wright celebrated by telling Price: “Your mind games didn’t work.”
Wright has a lousy record in major finals – won one, lost eight, including one at Ally Pally six years ago against Michael van Gerwen – but at 49 and that colourful barnet, he looks like a genuine hair to the throne now.
Price stomped off stage without shaking hands and disappeared without commenting on his lamentable performance.
Wright had a conspicuous lack of sympathy for the former rugby hooker, saying: “Before the match we were winding each other up. He said he would win the first two sets and I gave him some back.
“I like Gezzy, but I thought he was better than that. I don’t appreciate what he did tonight, but there you go. That’s why I didn’t celebrate, so sorry for being so miserable. He wanted me to concentrate – well, I concentrated and you lost, mate.
“His averages weren’t that good for a guy to get to the final. He was nowhere near me and I didn’t play my best game by a long way. But it spurred me on, it wound me up on the dartboard and I got him back.
“I played rubbish. I will have to play better than that to win this final and I think I will. I’m using new darts now and I believe I can hit anything I want with them.
“I know about my record in finals, but I wont throw away my chances again. I am more mature now.”
In truth, Wright had helped to set the tone for gamesmanship by fistbumping Price’s kids over the barrier during the walk-on.
And when Scotland’s reigning World Cup holder took the first set with an 11-darter,
Price was in no mood to reciprocate the banter.
But the blue touchpaper was lit by The
Iceman’s in-your-face celebration when he levelled at 1-1 as the pair’s off-stage friendship was suspended.
Price was so keen to get on with it that his arm was often raised, ready to throw, before Wright had retrieved his arrows from the target.
His haste did him few favours. The faster he played, the more the Welshman scattered his darts across the north London skyline like a bag of nails falling off a carpenter’s workbench.
How he managed to share the first six sets with Wright, despite being outplayed, only Price knows.
The tungsten he purveyed in the eighth set, where he averaged just 78.80, was pure filth. If a contestant at the rival BDO world championship served up such poor numbers in a semi-final, they would be laughed at by PDC cheerleaders.