Peter Wright stormed into the final of the World Matchplay with a sensational 17-10 victory over Michael van Gerwen on Saturday night, in which he averaged over 110.
Snakebite was pushed hard by MVG, who averaged 101.55 himself, but the Dutchman just could not keep up with the Scot.
Wright’s 110.66 is the sixth highest in Matchplay history and the highest ever hit in a Matchplay semi-final.
The 51-year-old was emotional afterwards, fighting back tears as the Blackpool crowd cheered his name, but he recognised how immense the game was.
‘That was a hell of a game,’ Wright told Sky Sports. ‘I had to play well there, Michael played the best he’s done for ages.
‘What a game. I would have liked to watch it, personally.’
Part of Wright’s emotion is due to the health problems his wife Jo has been going through over the last 18 months, with her back issues keeping her away from tournaments, but she will be at the Winter Gardens on Sunday for the final against Dimitri van den Bergh.
‘The most important thing, Jo’s here tomorrow,’ said Peter. ‘It has [been a tough time]. We’ve got the boss back tomorrow so no mucking about and we’re going to play last year’s winner, Dimitri.
‘We couldn’t do it without these fans, could we? It’s what makes darts special, these guys.
‘I’m gong to look forward to tomorrow, obviously playing Dimitri, he’s an awesome player and if it’s anything like that [the semi-final] then…what a final.’
Van den Bergh is looking to defend the title he won last year after beating Krzysztof Ratajski 17-9 in the first semi-final of the night.
The Belgian has also downed world champion Gerwyn Price, Dave Chisnall and Devon Petersen to reach the final for a second time and has still never lost a match in the tournament after winning it on debut in 2020.
Van den Bergh spent some of the 2020 lockdowns living with Wright and saw up close how good darts’ tinkerman is with any set of arrows.
‘I knew before that Peter uses lots of different darts, but I’ve seen him busy at his own home and he does get bored very quickly of a set of darts, so he just picks another one,’ Van den Bergh told Sky Sports last year.
‘But I’m telling you guys it’s unbelievable how good he plays with any set of darts that he uses.
‘The last time that I remember he just took one set of darts that he has here and he stands at the board and has in six throws 100, 140 three times and 180 two times and I just looked at him and said ‘what the hell is wrong with you? Why am I not playing like that? It’s just so easy for you’.
‘And he’s like ‘what can I say?’, but he’s a world champion for a reason and he just keeps showing it even in practice. I haven’t even beaten him yet.’
Wright and Van den Bergh meet at 8.30pm on Sunday in the final.
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