Wright vows there is no Van Gerwen “hoodoo” as he goes for Grand Slam glory
Pumped-up Peter Wright insists there is no “hoodoo” when it comes to facing his biggest rival Michael van Gerwen.
Wright faces a potential win or bust final Grand Slam group stage clash with Josh Payne in Wolverhampton on Monday evening.
But the colourful Scot admits he is pacing himself for another run to the final after last year’s heartbreak at the hands of his nemesis MVG.
Wright told Live Darts: ” You don’t need to show too much in the early rounds. No point wasting all your good darts too soon, it’s about saving your best for later on.
“It’s important to treat it as a marathon, not a sprint. I know what I had to do last year to get to the final and I’ll do exactly the same this time.
“I lost the final to Michael last year but you learn every time. You learn from what you’ve done wrong or the preparation, didn’t eat right or just lacked energy because of lack of sleep.
“People say that I can’t beat Michael but I’ve beaten him three times on telly already this year. Once in front of 11,000 of his fans booing and hissing me in Rotterdam, I still put up with it and done it.
“I also beat him in Cardiff and in Brighton in the Champions League. There is no hoodoo so it just shows I can do it.”
Wright once again was sporting a fabulous Armistice Day head paint tribute by his wife Jo, a poignant and wonderful tribute.
On the oche he remained unbeaten in the cross-code tournament with a 5-2 win over Max Hopp, just 24 hours after edging past Jim Williams in a deciding leg.
Snakebite still needs to beat oche hunk Payne to make sure of his place in the knockout stages later in the week.
He added: “I don’t really look at what I have to do. I turn up to win whatever the match. I owe him from beating me in the Players Championship finals a few weeks back.
“I’d beat him at arm wrestling as well, he knows that!”
A nice touch from @snakebitewright on #RememberanceDay2018 ???? pic.twitter.com/L2UCOkGsZD
— Live Darts (@livedarts) November 11, 2018
