Peter Wright Seeks Revival at Grand Slam with New Throw

Peter Wright, whose world ranking has fallen to 14th, expressed his ambition to regain his previous form and establish a significant presence in what he considers an opportune era for Scottish darts. Indications have emerged suggesting the 54-year-old might be approaching his peak performance once more. This includes his victory at the German Championship in September, where he defeated Luke Littler in the final. Nevertheless, the two-time world champion has experienced difficulties throughout 2024, seeing his ranking decline from eighth to 14th and failing to advance past the last 16 stage in his most recent seven competitions. Ahead of the Grand Slam of Darts, scheduled to commence on Saturday in Wolverhampton, Wright stated: “Obviously winning that European event, I have got into it.” He further remarked, “A lot of players from the top 10 in the world, I think three of them are not in it, so it is great to be there. I love the round-robin format. It is not like you get knocked out and you have to go home.” Wright also disclosed that he is “working on a new throw” as an attempt to revitalize his performance. He commented, “I have tried it before but never stuck with it.” He elaborated, “I was going to do it for the Matchplay, but I picked up another set of darts completely and used them and went back to a normal throw.” Wright concluded, “I haven’t done a lot of practice this week. I just feel good mentally and that is it.” Wright, a three-time runner-up at the Grand Slam of Darts, has been drawn into a group alongside fourth seed Rob Cross, Martin Lukeman, and Leonard Gates. The top two competitors from this group will advance. Gary Anderson and Cameron Menzies represent the other Scottish participants in the tournament. Anderson, a double world champion, has consistently achieved strong averages, moving from 27th to 20th in the global rankings, while Menzies has experienced a significant breakthrough year on the primary tour. The 35-year-old Glaswegian, who recently secured his first Players Championship title, has ascended 14 positions to reach 40th in the standings. “It is great,” Wright further commented. “Cameron is flying the flag. He is the one doing the consistency of averages and then Gary is doing ups and downs but some fantastic averages as well as.” He continued, “He is blowing people off the board the way he used to do. So hopefully I can start playing like those two and then we have really got something to shout about.”