Darts ace Peter Wright admits he feels like a zombie.
But Snakebite is adamant there’s enough life in the tank to take-out champ Luke Humphries. Wright is toiling with a chest infection which saw him struggle on stage in the third-round win over Jermaine Wattimena at the World Darts Championship. Wright has his work cut out for him, with Humphries looking to become the first back-to-back winner of the competition since Gary Anderson in 2015 and 2016.
Speaking ahead of their face off, Wright said: “I feel like a zombie. I was in the backroom coughing my guts up. Not bad for an old man. I’ve had this for 10 days since I left the Ally Pally after my first match. So it’s everyone else’s fault that I’ve got this! Even though I’m ill, I feel like I’ve got loads in the tank. If Luke is to beat me, he’ll have to play well. Of course, playing Luke will be fantastic. He’s World No.1 and the reigning world champion. My chances of going all the way? The same as everyone else. I’m through to the last 16. If I can keep playing like I did [against Wattimena], I’ve got a chance.”
Wright set-up Sunday’s clash by beating the Dutchman and said: “The plan was to keep the match as short as possible. I was thinking when it was 3-2, I need to be breaking him here otherwise I’m in a lot of trouble. Knowing that Jermaine has been playing some good darts for the past couple of months. I knew it would be tough and I took each leg at a time. It was fantastic from the crowd, I really appreciated that. I was trying not to cough on my throw. So I was holding my breath each time. Jermaine must have felt sorry for me.
“I also didn’t want to put Jermaine off either and not cough as I walked past him. Somehow I got over the line. I think my finishing got me over the line. Mentally I felt fantastic. It’s the least I’ve ever practised for a World Championship match. I didn’t even know I was going to use those darts. I just needed something to go straight and no effort. They worked, so I got lucky. Jermaine didn’t play like he did over the last two games, but he’s on the way up and I’m on the way down.”