EXCLUSIVE

Peter Wright believes he is “more dangerous” after taking the biggest prize in the sport.

The Livingston ace will be announced as World Champion for the first time ever on a TV stage before his opening game against Joe Cullen tonight (Sat).

But Snakebite has vowed that he has so much more to achieve starting right now at the Ladbrokes Masters in Milton Keynes – including defending the World Cup for Scotland with Gary Anderson.

He said: “A few people have said I might be more dangerous now, I agree with that. I feel like the pressure is off me now.

“I don’t feel any pressure about being World Champion, I just feel relief that I’ve done it and now I can relax.

“I’ll approach the Masters differently. Before it was just the first tournament, I used to approach it like it’s a warm-up TV tournament. Now it’s another title to go and win. It doesn’t matter that it’s not ranked.

“I’d like to win the Matchplay. I Lost in the Final to Phil and it was emotional. He is one of my idols who won it 16 times and to get to that Final, I was tired. The respect I have for that man and what he did for darts is why I won the worlds.

“His mentality of never giving up, always coming back stronger, always proving that when he was put down, he’d come back stronger and prove how good he was.

“For me to win a MatchPlay would be awesome. I’m capable of winning all of the big titles now, whereas as before it: Can I?

“I want to defend the World Cup with Gaz. I want to try and break my average record of 123 on the floor on TV. I believe I can.

“I’m looking forward to this year. I believe if I concentrate, I’ll win.

“The story has just started, so let’s make the rest if it a happy ending.”

It’s been a whirlwind month for Wrighty as the man they all want to speak to. But this humble guy has taken it all very much in his stride.

He was also handed three gongs yesterday as PDC Fans’ Player of the Year, Televised Performance of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year.

He added: “To be honest, I only felt like World Champion for a couple of days. I was doing TV and press, but I’ve forgotten about it, really. I’m just thinking of getting on with the next tournament now and winning that.

“I never look back. You can’t change the past. Go and make the future. That is already won, it’s off the list, so it’s defend it and onto the next one. That’s what you have to do.

“You have to learn how to forget things. I missed seven darts to win the Premier League and got up the next day and won a floor tournament in Milton Keynes and hit  nine darter,

“I felt I was going to win the tournament. I had a scare in the first round, but I was put under pressure and hit the big shots at big times. That was pretty good for a warm-up to get mentally right.

“I fought well and had a strong mind. That’s what gets you through. Just to get your name on that trophy and just to hold it is crazy.

“After I won, I did all my press commitments the following day and was back home throwing darts before packing to go a TV Pro-Am event in Germany.

“The job was done. You can’t stop playing darts because you are World Champion. You need to keep going as there is a big sign on your back and everyone wants to kick it, so you need to be practicing,

“It’s given me confidence, of course it will do. It gives a new belief that if you can win that, you can win anything if you put your mind to it and prepare properly.

“The motivation is now to keep winning. To get some of those titles I’ve come close to winning to see if I can turn it from runner up.

“Hopefully, everything foes goes alright all year long. No health problems for my family or my myself and there’s no reason why I can’t defend it.”

By Phil Lanning (@lannomedia)