29 January 2024 , 12:21
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Peter Wright has revealed he ditched his trophies and darts after watching Luke Littler and Luke Humphries play out a memorable World Darts Championship final.
Wright, a two-time world champion, crashed out of the Ally Pally tournament after losing his second-round match to Jim Williams 3-0. It was a disappointing performance from Snakebite, who entered the tournament as fourth seed but could not challenge for the trophy.
Meanwhile, Littler, 17, took the world by storm as he progressed all the way through to the final, beating the likes of Andrew Gilding, Raymond van Barneveld and Brendan Dolan en route. However, Humphries ended Littler's historic run, winning his first World Championship during a record-breaking final.
And that has seemed to inspire Wright, who has decided to get rid of all his trophies and darts in a bid to motivate himself ahead of the 2024 campaign. "I watched the World Championship after I got knocked out, and Luke Littler and Luke Humphries inspired me with what they did," Wright told the PDC.
''Especially Luke Humphries with what he’s won over the last four months; it proves what you can do and achieve if you put the hard work in. Luke Littler is the best thing I’ve ever seen on TV! That’s why he has inspired me to get my finger out.
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"I have got rid of all my trophies, got rid of all my darts, so I can start afresh. I want new trophies this year. Last year was terrible and the year before that was terrible, but I’m looking forward to playing this year.
"I took time off last year and it didn't work, we saw that in the Premier League. This year I am hitting everything again. Fingers crossed my mindset is to use one set of darts. If I can manage that all year, I’ll be happy and I will be a big threat to everyone."
(PA)After losing to Michael Smith in the Bahrain Masters quarter-final, Wright suffered a shock defeat against Kevin Doets in the Dutch Masters on the weekend. Wright is back in action when the Premier League darts campaign gets underway in Cardiff on Thursday, with the 53-year-old facing Rob Cross in the last eight.
Littler, who won his first World Series title in Bahrain this month, lost 8-6 to van Gerwen on Saturday in the Dutch Masters. Speaking after his defeat, Littler said: "Hopefully I haven't burnt myself out for the Premier League next week. I'll take this as match practice and it goes into my World Series ranking, but I can't wait to go down to Cardiff."