Peter Wright (darts Player)

Peter Wright (born 10 March 1970) is a Scottish professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), where he is currently ranked No. 2 in the world. Nicknamed "Snakebite", he is a two-time world champion, having won the PDC World Darts Championship in 2020 and 2022. He is also a World Matchplay champion and has been ranked as the World No. 1 in the PDC twice (both times occurring in 2022).

When he was 24, Wright qualified for the first round of the 1995 BDO World Darts Championship, but then stopped playing darts professionally, working instead as a builder and tyre fitter while competing in local darts leagues. He resumed his professional darts career in his late 30s, playing his first full schedule of PDC events in 2008. He qualified for his first PDC World Darts Championship in 2010, entered the top 16 for the first time in 2013, and reached his first world final in 2014, where he was runner-up to Michael van Gerwen. He won his first major PDC title at the 2017 UK Open; as of January 2022, he has won seven major PDC titles. He has hit one televised nine-dart finish, at the 2020 Premier League Darts.

Known for his flamboyant stage persona, Wright typically wears colourful attire, multicoloured Mohican hairstyles created by his hairdresser wife Joanne, and elaborate designs painted on his head. He is known for performing a sidestep dance before his matches to the song " Don't Stop the Party" by Pitbull.

Early life, BDO, and beginnings of PDC career

Born in Livingston, Scotland, to a 16-year-old single mother, Wright moved to London with his mother when he was three years old because she feared that her sisters would take her child away from her. Although he has lived in England ever since, he chooses to represent Scotland in sports. He stated that he first became interested in darts through watching players such as Cliff Lazerenko, Jocky Wilson, and Eric Bristow on TV in the early 1980s. He received a set of darts for his 13th birthday, but since his mother could not afford a dartboard, he initially threw them at trees. After some practice, he was able to beat his stepfather and his stepfather's friends. Within a few years, he was regarded as one of the most promising young players in London.

Wright competed at the 1995 BDO World Darts Championship, losing 3–1 in the first round to eventual champion Richie Burnett. He did not pursue a professional career afterward; instead, he worked as a builder and tyre fitter while playing in local darts leagues. He competed in the 2005 UK Open, where he lost 5–4 in the third round to Dave Smith. After he and his wife Joanne watched the inaugural Grand Slam of Darts on TV in 2007, and Wright mentioned that he had beaten some of the players who were competing in the event, Joanne encouraged him to pursue professional success in the sport. He first played a full schedule of Professional Darts Corporation events in 2008, although he had little success, winning just £1,200 in prize money.

PDC

20092010

2009 proved to be a much better year for Wright as he made his PDC televised debut at the 2009 Las Vegas Desert Classic where he was defeated 6–3 by Colin Lloyd in the first round. His good form on the PDC Pro Tour, helped by a semi-final showing in the Las Vegas Players Championship, earned him qualification for the 2009 World Matchplay. Wright played Terry Jenkins in the first round and lost 10–4. Further quarter-final and semi-final runs followed in Players Championship events to qualify for his first PDC World Championship, where he lost 3–1 in sets to Michael van Gerwen in the opening round.

In 2010, Wright also made his debut in the Players Championship Finals and lost in the first round 6–2 against Wes Newton. In April, he reached his first final on the PDC tour at the sixth UK Open Qualifier where he lost 6–2 to Phil Taylor. Wright was knocked out in the third round of the UK Open 9–7 by William O'Connor.

2011 season

Wright won a match at the World Championship for the first time in 2011 by beating Co Stompé 3–1 and then saw off Paul Nicholson to face defending champion Phil Taylor in the third round. Wright lost 4–1 and averaged a very respectable 96.56. He enjoyed a good run at the UK Open which was ended in the last 16 by Mark Hylton and played in his second World Matchplay where Simon Whitlock beat him 10–7 in the first round. Wright's first quarter-final appearance in a major event came at the European Championship with victories over John Part and Gary Anderson, before losing again to Whitlock this time 10–6. His form continued by reaching the final of the 18th Players Championship of the year and a 6–2 loss to Anderson. Wright defeated Denis Ovens 6–4 in the opening round of the Players Championship Finals but lost 8–6 to Wes Newton in the subsequent round.

2012 season

Wright was unable to repeat his 2011 run in the 2012 edition of the World Championship, as he lost 3–1 to Jelle Klaasen in the first round. Wright missed 11 consecutive darts at doubles in the first two sets of the match. Wright represented Scotland with Gary Anderson in the 2012 PDC World Cup of Darts and together they were beaten by South Africa in the second round, losing in a sudden-death leg. Wright defeated Andy Brown and former world champions John Part and Richie Burnett to reach the last 16 of the UK Open where he played Raymond van Barneveld. Wright led 8–6 and was on a 138 finish on his throw to advance to the quarter-finals and beat the Dutchman for the first time. He hit treble 20 with his first dart and then single 18 to leave 60, meaning single 20 with his last dart would have left double top for the win when he returned to the board. However, Wright hit another treble 20 to bust his score and went on to lose the match 9–8.

Wright won his first PDC ranking title in October 2012, at the 15th Players Championship of the year in Killarney, Ireland, where he beat Robert Thornton 6–1 in the final with a 107 average. After all 33 ProTour events of 2012 had been played, Wright was 17th on the Order of Merit, comfortably inside the top 32 who qualified for the Players Championship Finals. He beat Colin Lloyd and Wayne Jones, before losing to Kim Huybrechts 10–6 in the quarter-finals.

2013 season

At the 2013 World Championship Wright saw off Arron Monk 3–0 in the first round to set up a meeting with the second favourite for the tournament, Michael van Gerwen, who Wright described as "not good enough" before the match. Wright won the first two sets, but van Gerwen won 12 of the next 14 legs to triumph 4–2. In the eight UK Open Qualifiers during the early part of 2013, Wright was a losing quarter-finalist twice and a losing semi-finalist three times to be placed fourth on the Order of Merit. It was at the UK Open where Wright reached his first major PDC semi-final. He had impressive victories over Gaz Cousins (9–4), BDO number one Stephen Bunting (9–2), Steve West (9–4) and Adrian Lewis (10–6). He played Phil Taylor in the semis and was beaten 5–10, with Wright stating afterwards that he had played the player instead of the dart board and was tensing up and snatching darts. He set himself a goal of reaching the top 16 in the world rankings by the end of the year. Later in the month, Wright won his second career ranking title at the fifth Players Championship. He averaged an incredible 118.66 in beating Gary Anderson 6–0 in ten minutes in the quarter-finals and then saw off Kevin Painter 6–3 in the semis and Wes Newton 6–1 in the final. He lost 6–4 to Colin Lloyd in the first round of the European Championship and 13–3 to Michael van Gerwen in the second round of the World Matchplay. Wright reached the final of the German Darts Championship, but lost 6–2 to Dave Chisnall. He also lost to Chisnall in the final of the next event, the seventh Players Championship, having beaten van Gerwen 6–2 in the semi-finals. He picked up another appearance in a final at the tenth event but lost 6–3 to Raymond van Barneveld. At the World Grand Prix he lost 2–0 in sets to Wes Newton in the first round, but after the event he moved into the world's top 16 for the first time. This earned him a spot in the first staging of the Masters, a tournament exclusively for the top 16 on the Order of Merit, where he was defeated 6–2 by Van Gerwen in the opening round.

2014 season

Wright advanced to the third round of the 2014 World Championship, where he faced Michael Smith who had knocked out Phil Taylor in the previous round. Wright produced his then highest televised averaged of 105.07 but at one point was 3–2 behind, before winning six of the next seven legs to reach the quarter-finals of the event for the first time in his career. He trailed 2–0 early on against Wes Newton but rallied to level with the match eventually going into a deciding set. Wright missed four match darts at two legs to none up but eventually edged the contest with a 121 finish on the bull to face Simon Whitlock in the semi-finals. He outplayed Whitlock from the start and maintained his high level by averaging over 100 for the second time in the event and win 6–2. Wright lost 12 of the first 14 legs in the final against number two seed Michael van Gerwen, before winning two unanswered sets and then missed one dart to trail just 4–3. He went on to be 6–2 behind and again won two sets in a row, but missed two chances to extend the match into a 12th set as he was beaten 7–4. The runner-up's cheque of £100,000 was the highest of his career at that point and he rose to world number seven. He was named the Most Improved Player and PDPA Player of the Year at the PDC's Annual Awards in January.

Wright's exploits earned him a place in the Premier League for the first time and he started the campaign very strongly with victories over the likes of Taylor (7–4), Adrian Lewis (7–1) and Whitlock (7–3) to be top of the table between weeks four and six. Despite three defeats in a row in the middle of the season, Wright was in the play-off places until week 13 and he then battled to a 6–6 draw with Taylor to ensure he would have a chance of progressing in the final round of league matches. However, after other results had not gone his way he was guaranteed to finish fifth in the table before he had played and he ended the season with a 7–5 defeat against Van Gerwen. Wright won his third title carrying ranking points of his career at the ninth Players Championship by beating Justin Pipe 6–2. At the Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters, Wright eliminated Taylor 10–5 and Dave Chisnall 11–8 to reach the final, where Van Gerwen was once again the victor as he defeated Wright 11–7. Wright played in his second World Cup of Darts