Peter Wright surprisingly clearly fails against Arno Merk at the Darts World Championship. After his exit, Michael van Gerwen finds clear words.
Peter Wright’s exit from the Darts World Championship was one of the biggest sensations of the tournament so far. The Scotsman surprisingly clearly lost 0:3 to Arno Merk in his World Cup debut.
That Wright had to throw in the towel so early after a weak year didn’t come completely out of nowhere. However, the manner of it was alarming. He had no chance against the German outsider.
For one person, however, the performance came as no surprise: Michael van Gerwen. The Dutchman, who has been at odds with Wright for some time, used the press conference after his 3:1 victory against William O’Connor to rail against Wright.
“His performance doesn’t surprise me at all, because he’s always played so poorly lately. It’s time for him to end his career,” van Gerwen stated clearly.
Darts World Championship: Van Gerwen and Wright at odds
Due to the exit against Merk, the highly anticipated third-round duel between van Gerwen and Wright will not take place. Instead, the German challenges the Dutch favorite.
Likely with an eye on a possible duel, Wright and van Gerwen had exchanged barbs during the World Championship (Darts World Championship from December 11 to January 3 LIVE on SPORT1 ).
Among other things, the Scotsman had claimed that MvG had eye problems. “I don’t know if Michael is currently wearing contact lenses. But I think MvG’s eyesight is deteriorating.” With a smile, he added: “However, he won’t admit it.”
The Dutchman then shot back. “I think mentioning Peter Wright’s name is a complete waste of time. Come on, guys. He can’t even win a raffle these days.”
Anderson defends Wright
At least with regard to the current World Championship, MvG should be proven right. The early World Championship exit is the negative highlight in a year full of lows for Peter Wright.
Due to his poor performance, he will most likely drop out of the top 32 in the world rankings. In the past two years, he had not made it past the quarter-finals in any TV tournament.
His compatriot Gary Anderson nevertheless stood by him: “People think we are robots and always have to play well. If someone has a few bad games, it’s immediately said: That’s it for him, he should end his career. Give him a break.”