Livingston darts star Peter Wright dethroned world champion Luke Humphries last night – then set his sights firmly on a third crown for himself.
Snakebite, who lifted the World Championship trophy in 2020 and 2022, rolled back the years as he produced a stunning 100.93 average on his way to a thumping 4-1 victory at the Ally Pally to book his place in the quarter-finals.
And the 54-year-old will now be aiming to become the oldest champion when he returns to action in 2025.
It has been a tough old year for Wright with just two wins from 18 matches in the Premier League of Darts this season, but as the turn of the year approaches, Snakebite is turning over a new leaf and rediscovering the form that previously earned him world glory.
After sending Humphries crashing with a 70 per cent success rate on his doubles, delighted Wright beamed: “How did I knock out the world champion? Because I’m a double world champion and I want to win it a third time.
“I’ve had a rubbish year but you have only got to play well for three weeks of the whole year – these are the three weeks that matter. I’ve been struggling for form all year and it’s so annoying – but I can still play darts.
“I know I can beat the likes of Humphries and (Luke) Littler but those two guys also inspire me to carry on playing darts. I’m not ready to go to the senior side yet, because I know I can still play this game.
“I knew I still had it in me to compete against the best players in the world.
“I’ve sat in the Premier League getting battered by these guys and wondering why I’m here, why they picked me and stuff like that. I don’t seem to perform for the crowd there. It’s really strange and annoying.
“I was in tears last year and Michael van Gerwen said, ‘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.
“I’m just trying to play the game I know I can play.”
Wright will play Stephen Bunting or Luke Woodhouse in the last eight.