WHEN tinkerman Peter Wright was packing his suitcase for Ally Pally, he discovered a set of memorable equipment lying around his Suffolk farmhouse.
It was the arrows he had used when he became world champion for the first time nearly five years ago.
That was the night he showed all the doubters and haters that he was not a clown or comic act – he really could operate at the highest level.
The infrequently-used kit was tossed in the luggage and forgotten about until he was preparing for his fourth-round clash with Luke Humphries on Sunday night.
Now Snakebite is known for obsessively tinkering with his darts and chopping-and-changing even during games – as he did twice against Cool Hand Luke.
But incredibly – perhaps an illustration of his natural talent – he picked up an old pair after such a long time and used them to knock out the reigning world champion in clinical fashion.
With that world championship-winning set, he averaged 100.93, hit five 180s and impressively took out 14 of his 20 checkouts.
Wright explained: “I just shoved them in my case.
“They weren’t the darts I was going to use for this tournament. I picked them up.
“I just wanted darts to go straight and I could work with that. And that’s it.
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“I’m over the moon with the win but I wasn’t pleased with my performance.
“I just struggled for the whole game. Just trying to get the throwing action and placing the dart, making it feel nice, but it didn’t go.
“It was just the secret of just picking up that set of darts and putting them in my case.
“I thought I’d just take them just in case I might use them. That was it.”
Despite the pre-game war of words between the pair, Wright insists there “was no animosity or nothing against Luke at all”.
The crowd were fully behind Wright, more so than Humphries, and sang his name throughout the 4-1 upset.
That support will go a long way when he faces either Stephen Bunting or Luke Woodhouse in the quarter-finals on New Year’s Day.
Wright, who was also victorious at the Worlds in 2022, is trying to become a three-time world champion at the end of an awful year on the circuit.
Only Phil Taylor (16), Raymond van Barneveld (5) and Eric Bristow (5) have accumulated more than three world crowns in the sport’s history.
Should he prevail on Friday night, then at the age of 54 he would be the oldest world champion in the PDC history – two years older than Taylor was in 2013.
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He continued: “I said it when I had the Christmas beard the other day, I know I can beat the likes of Luke Humphries and Luke Littler.
“Last year’s World Championship final, between Humphries and Littler, that inspired me. Those two guys inspire me to carry on playing darts.
“You know, I’m not ready to go to the senior side yet because I know I can still play this game.
“It didn’t feel like I played the game there, but I know I can get better.
“I’ve always said this tournament is only two-and-a-half weeks, three weeks long. That’s where you’ve got to play well.
“You ain’t got to play well in the beginning. You’ve got to work your way into the tournament and play well at the right times.
“It doesn’t matter what you’ve done the rest of the year.”
Last year’s World Championship final, between Humphries and Littler, that inspired me. Those two guys inspire me to carry on playing darts.
Peter Wright
Wright contemplated his future in the sport when he was stuffed in the Premier League, losing 14 times in the first round during the 16-week Road Show.
He finished rock bottom of the eight-man invitational with only four points to his name.
The No.17 seed said: “I’ve sat in the Premier League the past two years getting battered by these guys and wondering why I’m here, why have they picked me?
“Stuff like that, when I don’t seem to perform for the crowd there. It’s really strange and it’s annoying. I was in tears.
“Michael van Gerwen said to me: ‘You don’t want to do it anymore, do you?’
“I said: ‘I don’t know. Maybe I don’t, maybe I do. But I’m not going to give up.’ And that’s the main thing.”
