Peter Wright is targeting a strong end to the year after celebrating his first televised ranking title for almost two years;
Next up on the Sky Sports Darts calendar is the 17th staging of the Grand Slam of Darts from November 11-19 at the Aldersley Leisure Village
Peter Wright believes his European Championship triumph can provide the springboard for a strong end to the 2023 season, following his return to winning ways in Germany.
The Scot secured the European Championship with an 11-6 victory over James Wade in Dortmund on Sunday, throwing four 180s and finishing with an average of 97.39.
Wright produced a series of superb displays at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund to win his eighth Premier televised title, joining Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross in becoming a multiple European champion.
“It’s a brilliant feeling to win another TV tournament,” reflected Wright, who reclaims second spot on the PDC Order of Merit at the expense of Van Gerwen.
“If you look at the calibre of players that were in the quarter-finals – you had Gezzy [Gerwyn Price] there, Michael van Gerwen, Luke Humphries.
“There was also Danny [Noppert] and Gian van Veen, who I think is the future of darts, and I came out the winner.
“The old guy can still do it! It’s about believing in myself. That’s all I was trying to do, and it worked.”
Wright has endured a challenging 2023 campaign, relinquishing his World Championship crown in January, finishing bottom of this year’s Premier League while also suffering an early exit in July’s World Matchplay but after capping off his revival by celebrating his first televised ranking title for almost two years, ‘Snakebite’ is now targeting a strong end to the year.
“My form this year has been terrible,” claimed the two-time world champion, despite winning titles at the Nordic Darts Masters and Czech Darts Open in January and May respectively.
“I was hitting averages below 80 at times, and it’s only in the past month that I’ve been playing some better darts.
“I know if I can put the hard work in then I can win these tournaments, even when I’m not playing at my best.
“We’ve got a lot of big tournaments coming up soon, so now it’s about finding that consistency, but I will be ready for Alexandra Palace. I believe I can win [a third World Championship title].”
Wright’s immediate focus will now turn to this week’s Players Championship double-header, as the 2023 PDC ProTour season reaches its climax in Barnsley.
“Now it’s about focusing on the next one, and I have to go to Barnsley to try and get into Minehead,” added Wright, who is currently in 78th position on the Players Championship Order of Merit.
“I’m defending prize money from winning the Players Championship Finals two years ago, so I need to be in it to give myself a chance to try and win it again.
“This helps with the prize money that I’m defending at the end of the year, but I’m not sending a message out [to rivals], because everyone knows that I’m hard to beat when I turn up.”
Watch the seventeenth staging of the Grand Slam of Darts from 11-19 November at the Aldersley Leisure Village. Stream your favourite sports and more with NOW