Peter Wright is in a particularly difficult phase of his career. It will be enormously difficult for ‘Snakebite’ to get things back on track, according to Vincent van der Voort.
The Scot has been in a form crisis since 2023. Wright managed to save his season last year by winning the European Championship to everyone’s surprise, but that resurgence was not long-lived. Wright’s first half of the season was again very disappointing, with a last-place finish in the Premier League Darts for the second consecutive season and early exits at tournaments such as the World Darts Championship, UK Open and World Matchplay.
For a while after the summer, Wright seemed to have things back on track, and the two-time world champion even won a Euro Tour title. But even this revival did not last long. At the World Grand Prix and the European Championship, Wright was eliminated right away. At the European Darts Championship, moreover, Wright threw an average of just 75.
At the Grand Slam of Darts, the Scot was once again unable to make a breakthrough. He lost to Martin Lukeman (5-0), Leonard Gates (5-4) and Rob Cross (5-1). Van der Voort stated in the SportNews podcast Darts Draait Door that it will be a huge task to still turn the tide.
“It’s really dramatic, though. It’s going to be very difficult for Wright to continue like this for another year. He’s sinking very far though. Wright has had such a fantastic career, is such a great player…. I’m sorry how things are going now, but he also brought this on himself. Can he turn it around? That will be a hell of a job for him,” stated the former UK Open finalist.
Van der Voort especially misunderstands certain choices made by the two-time world champion. “I don’t understand his choices. He should have taken a better look at which tournaments and events he does and doesn’t attend. He spent far too long looking for the turnaround. Thrown every Pro Tour and every Euro Tour, looking for something that’s not there. But if things aren’t going well, it might be good to put the arrows away for a while. His position was good enough for it to skip some tournaments.”
According to “The Dutch Destroyer,” it would have been better if Wright had taken a break. “Just completely unwind. But if you keep throwing, keep doubting and keep changing, then he also has to live with the consequences,” Van der Voort said. “He has no idea what he’s doing now. That’s special for such a good player.”