| Peter Wright | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Wright at the2025 World Masters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Peter Stuart Wright | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | "Snakebite" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1970-03-10)10 March 1970 (age 55) Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Mendham, Suffolk, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Darts information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Darts | 21g Red Dragon Signature | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Laterality | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Walk-on music | "Don't Stop the Party" byPitbull, preceded by the intro to "The Greatest Show" from "The Greatest Showman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Organisation (seesplit in darts) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BDO | 1995–2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PDC | 2004– (Tour Card: 2011–) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current world ranking | (PDC) 30 (23 November 2025)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WDF major events – best performances | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | Last 32:1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Masters | Last 64: 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PDC premier events – best performances | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | Winner (2):2020,2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Matchplay | Winner (1):2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Grand Prix | Runner-up:2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UK Open | Winner (1):2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam | Runner-up:2017,2019,2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| European Championship | Winner (2):2020,2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Premier League | Runner-up:2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Desert Classic | Last 32:2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PC Finals | Winner (1):2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Masters | Winner (1):2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Champions League | Runner-up:2018,2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Series Finals | Runner-up:2015,2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other tournament wins | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
European Tour Events (x9)
Players Championships (x22)
UK Open Qualifiers (x3)
World Series of Darts (x4)
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| Other achievements | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Peter Stuart Wright (born 10 March 1970) is a Scottish professionaldarts player who competes inProfessional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently rankedworld number thirty; he was ranked world number one on two occasions in 2022. Nicknamed "Snakebite", he is a two-timePDC World Champion, having won the2020 and2022 World Championships. He also won theWorld Matchplay in2021. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport,[2][3][4] Wright has won eight PDC major singles titles, placing himjoint-fourth in the all-time list.
When he was 24, Wright qualified for the first round of the1995 BDO World Championship but then stopped playing darts professionally, working instead as a builder and tyre fitter while competing in local darts leagues. He resumed his professional darts career in his late 30s, playing his first full schedule of PDC events in 2008. He qualified for his first PDC World Championship in2010, entered the top 16 for the first time in 2013, and reached his first world final in2014, where he was runner-up to Michael van Gerwen. He won his first major PDC title at the2017 UK Open. He has hit one televisednine-dart finish, at the2020 Premier League Darts. Wright has won a total of 48 PDC titles in his professional career, including ninePDC European Tour titles.
Wright is known for his flamboyant stage persona, involving colourful attire, multicoloured Mohican hairstyles created by his hairdresser wife Joanne, and elaborate designs painted on his head. He is also known for performing a sidestep dance before his matches to the song "Don't Stop the Party" byPitbull.
Wright was born inLivingston, Scotland, to a 16-year-old single mother; he has never met his father, who was in prison at the time of his birth.[5] When he was three years old, his mother moved to London with her son because she feared that her sisters would take him away from her.[6] Wright has lived in England since then but chooses to represent Scotland in sports. He first became interested in darts while watching players such asCliff Lazerenko,Jocky Wilson, andEric Bristow on TV in the early 1980s.[7] He received a set of darts for his 13th birthday, but since his mother could not afford a dartboard, he initially threw them at trees. After some practice, he was able to beat his stepfather and his stepfather's friends.[7] Within a few years, he was regarded as one of the most promising young players in London.[8]
Wright competed at the1995 BDO World Darts Championship, losing 3–1 in the first round to eventual championRichie Burnett.[9] He did not pursue a professional career afterward; instead, he worked as a builder and tyre fitter while playing in local darts leagues.[10] He competed in the2005 UK Open, where he lost 5–4 in the third round toDave Smith.[11] After he and his wife Joanne watched the inauguralGrand Slam of Darts on TV in 2007, Wright mentioned that he had beaten some of the players who were competing in the event. Joanne then encouraged him to pursue professional success in the sport.[12] He first played a full schedule ofProfessional Darts Corporation events in 2008, although he had little success, winning just £1,200 in prize money.[13]
2009 proved to be a much better year for Wright as he made his PDC televised debut at the2009 Las Vegas Desert Classic where he was defeated 6–3 byColin Lloyd in the first round.[14] His good form on thePDC Pro Tour, helped by a semi-final showing in the Las Vegas Players Championship, earned him qualification for the2009 World Matchplay.[15][16] Wright playedTerry Jenkins in the first round and lost 10–4.[17] Further quarter-final and semi-final runs followed in Players Championship events to qualify for his firstPDC World Championship, where he lost 3–1 in sets toMichael van Gerwen in the opening round.[18]
In 2010, Wright also made his debut in thePlayers Championship Finals and lost in the first round 6–2 againstWes Newton.[19] In April, he reached his first final on the PDC tour at the sixthUK Open Qualifier where he lost 6–2 toPhil Taylor.[20] Wright was knocked out in the third round of theUK Open 9–7 byWilliam O'Connor.[21]
Wright won a match at the World Championship for the first time in2011 by beatingCo Stompé 3–1 and then saw offPaul Nicholson to face defending championPhil Taylor in the third round. Wright lost 4–1 and averaged a very respectable 96.56.[22] He enjoyed a good run at theUK Open which was ended in the last 16 byMark Hylton and played in his secondWorld Matchplay whereSimon Whitlock beat him 10–7 in the first round.[23][24] Wright's first quarter-final appearance in a major event came at theEuropean Championship with victories overJohn Part andGary Anderson, before losing again to Whitlock this time 10–6.[25] His form continued by reaching the final of the 18thPlayers Championship of the year and a 6–2 loss to Anderson.[26] Wright defeatedDenis Ovens 6–4 in the opening round of thePlayers Championship Finals but lost 8–6 toWes Newton in the subsequent round.[27]
Wright was unable to repeat his 2011 run in the2012 edition of theWorld Championship, as he lost 3–1 toJelle Klaasen in the first round. Wright missed 11 consecutive darts at doubles in the first two sets of the match.[28] Wright represented Scotland withGary Anderson in the2012 PDC World Cup of Darts and together they were beaten by South Africa in the second round, losing in a sudden-death leg.[29] Wright defeated Andy Brown and former world championsJohn Part andRichie Burnett to reach the last 16 of theUK Open where he playedRaymond van Barneveld.[30] Wright led 8–6 and was on a 138 finish on his throw to advance to the quarter-finals and beat the Dutchman for the first time. He hit treble 20 with his first dart and then single 18 to leave 60, meaning single 20 with his last dart would have left double top for the win when he returned to the board. However, Wright hit another treble 20 to bust his score and went on to lose the match 9–8.[31]
Wright won his first PDC ranking title in October 2012, at the 15th Players Championship of the year inKillarney, Ireland, where he beatRobert Thornton 6–1 in the final with a 107 average.[32] After all 33 ProTour events of 2012 had been played, Wright was 17th on the Order of Merit, comfortably inside the top 32 who qualified for thePlayers Championship Finals.[33] He beatColin Lloyd andWayne Jones, before losing toKim Huybrechts 10–6 in the quarter-finals.[34]
At the2013 World Championship Wright saw offArron Monk 3–0 in the first round to set up a meeting with the second favourite for the tournament,Michael van Gerwen, who Wright described as "not good enough" before the match.[35][36] Wright won the first two sets, but van Gerwen won 12 of the next 14 legs to triumph 4–2.[37] In the eightUK Open Qualifiers during the early part of 2013, Wright was a losing quarter-finalist twice and a losing semi-finalist three times to be placed fourth on theOrder of Merit.[38] It was at the UK Open where Wright reached his first major PDC semi-final. He had impressive victories over Gaz Cousins (9–4), BDO number oneStephen Bunting (9–2),Steve West (9–4) andAdrian Lewis (10–6).[39] He playedPhil Taylor in the semis and was beaten 5–10, with Wright stating afterwards that he had played the player instead of the dart board and was tensing up and snatching darts. He set himself a goal of reaching the top 16 in the world rankings by the end of the year.[40] Later in the month, Wright won his second career ranking title at the fifthPlayers Championship. He averaged an incredible 118.66 in beatingGary Anderson 6–0 in ten minutes in the quarter-finals and then saw offKevin Painter 6–3 in the semis andWes Newton 6–1 in the final.[41] He lost 6–4 toColin Lloyd in the first round of theEuropean Championship and 13–3 toMichael van Gerwen in the second round of theWorld Matchplay.[42][43] Wright reached the final of theGerman Darts Championship, but lost 6–2 toDave Chisnall.[44] He also lost to Chisnall in the final of the next event, the seventh Players Championship, having beaten van Gerwen 6–2 in the semi-finals.[45] He picked up another appearance in a final at the tenth event but lost 6–3 toRaymond van Barneveld.[46] At theWorld Grand Prix he lost 2–0 in sets toWes Newton in the first round, but after the event he moved into the world's top 16 for the first time.[47] This earned him a spot in the first staging of theMasters, a tournament exclusively for the top 16 on the Order of Merit, where he was defeated 6–2 by Van Gerwen in the opening round.[48]
Wright advanced to the third round of the2014 World Championship, where he facedMichael Smith who had knocked outPhil Taylor in the previous round. Wright produced his then highest televised averaged of 105.07 but at one point was 3–2 behind, before winning six of the next seven legs to reach the quarter-finals of the event for the first time in his career.[49] He trailed 2–0 early on againstWes Newton but rallied to level with the match eventually going into a deciding set. Wright missed four match darts at two legs to none up but eventually edged the contest with a 121 finish on the bull to faceSimon Whitlock in the semi-finals.[50] He outplayed Whitlock from the start and maintained his high level by averaging over 100 for the second time in the event and win 6–2.[51] Wright lost 12 of the first 14 legs in the final against number two seedMichael van Gerwen, before winning two unanswered sets and then missed one dart to trail just 4–3. He went on to be 6–2 behind and again won two sets in a row, but missed two chances to extend the match into a 12th set as he was beaten 7–4.[52] The runner-up's cheque of £100,000 was the highest of his career at that point and he rose to world number seven.[53] He was named the Most Improved Player and PDPA Player of the Year at the PDC's Annual Awards in January.[54]
Wright's exploits earned him a place in thePremier League for the first time and he started the campaign very strongly with victories over the likes of Taylor (7–4),Adrian Lewis (7–1) and Whitlock (7–3) to be top of the table between weeks four and six.[55] Despite three defeats in a row in the middle of the season, Wright was in the play-off places until week 13 and he then battled to a 6–6 draw with Taylor to ensure he would have a chance of progressing in the final round of league matches.[56][57] However, after other results had not gone his way he was guaranteed to finish fifth in thetable before he had played and he ended the season with a 7–5 defeat against Van Gerwen.[58] Wright won his third title carrying ranking points of his career at the ninthPlayers Championship by beatingJustin Pipe 6–2.[59] At theDubai Duty Free Darts Masters, Wright eliminated Taylor 10–5 andDave Chisnall 11–8 to reach the final, where Van Gerwen was once again the victor as he defeated Wright 11–7.[60] Wright played in his secondWorld Cup of Darts this year and first withRobert Thornton and they progressed to the quarter-finals where they played Northern Ireland'sBrendan Dolan andMichael Mansell. Wright lost his singles match 4–2 to Dolan, but Thornton saw off Mansell to send the tie into a deciding doubles game which Scotland lost 4–1.[61] At theEuropean Darts Open, Wright averaged 111.29 whilst beating Michael Smith 6–1 in the second round and he went on to reach the final where he won his first European Tour title by defeatingSimon Whitlock 6–2.[62] He also advanced to the final of the last Players Championship of the year, but lost 6–5 toGary Anderson.[63]
Wright had a largely trouble free passage into the quarter-finals of the2015 World Championship as he dropped just one set in his opening three games. However, he was second best againstGary Anderson in a 5–1 defeat.[64] A 9–1 victory overRaymond van Barneveld at theUK Open marked Wright's first ever win over the Dutchman with Wright going on to meetPhil Taylor in the quarter-finals.[65] Wright won 10–6 after producing a match defining run to go from 5–4 behind to 9–5 ahead and broke down in tears in the post match interview.[66] He recomposed himself to thrashStephen Bunting 10–0 with an average of 105.10, over 20 points higher than his opponent's. However, a victory over a fifth world champion in the tournament proved a step too far as he couldn't quite reach the same heights in the final againstMichael van Gerwen in an 11–5 defeat.[67] A week later, Wright lost 6–5 toJames Wade in the final of the secondPlayers Championship event.[68] On his return to Scotland, Wright recovered from 5–1 down to steal a point againstStephen Bunting in thePremier League, stretching his run to five matches unbeaten.[69] However, four of those games were draws and Wright went into the ninth week of fixtures needing a win overAdrian Lewis to avoid being relegated from the competition, but he was beaten 7–4.[70] Wright threw the firstnine-dart finish of his career during his run to the final of the seventh Players Championship and won the title by defeating Wade 6–5 with an average of 110.14.[71] He also won the 12th event by overcomingJelle Klaasen 6–1 in the final.[72] Wright and Anderson beat the Dutch duo of Van Gerwen and Van Barneveld in a doubles match in the semi-finals of theWorld Cup to ensure Scotland would reach their first final in the event. They played England's Taylor and Lewis and it went to the final singles game in which the winner of Wright against Lewis would win the title, with Lewis triumphing 4–1.[73] In the inauguralJapan Darts Masters, Wright advanced to the final by edging past Van Gerwen 8–7 with a 141 finish. He was 7–2 down to Taylor, but then produced three ton-plus finishes during a five leg burst to level the match. However, Taylor was first to a double in the deciding leg to inflict Wright's fourth defeat in a televised final.[74]
Wright reset his highest televised average to 108.13 whilst eliminatingKim Huybrechts 10–5 in the opening round of theWorld Matchplay.[75] A pair of straight forward wins overAndrew Gilding andGerwyn Price saw him reach the semi-finals of the event for the first time, but he lost 17–12 to Van Gerwen.[76]Terry Jenkins defeated Wright 6–4 in the final of the 15th Players Championship.[77] He ledKim Huybrechts 5–2 in the final of theEuropean Darts Grand Prix, before losing four successive legs to be defeated 6–5, missing one championship dart in the process.[78] Wright won his third Players Championship title of the year by edgingBenito van de Pas 6–5 with all 11 legs going with the throw.[79] He lost each of the first five legs to Van Gerwen in the semi-finals of theEuropean Championship, but then pulled it back to 8–7 behind. However, Wright missed two darts at a single number to set up a double to level and went on to lose 11–7.[80] The pair would meet once more in the final of the firstWorld Series of Darts Finals and this time Wright lost the game's opening four legs, before moving 5–4 up. At 10–9 ahead and one leg away from the title, Wright hit a 180 to leave 90 only for Van Gerwen to take out 129 on the bull and, after Wright was unable to checkout 121 in the final leg, Van Gerwen finished 50 to complete an 11 dart leg and deny Wright his first televised title.[81]
Wright did not drop a set in reaching the third round of the2016 World Championship and survived one match dart fromDave Chisnall to win 4–3.[82] He missed one dart againstAdrian Lewis to reduce his deficit to 4–3 in the quarter-finals and lost 5–2.[83] Wright reached the final of theUK Open for the second year in a row and just like 12 months previously he facedMichael van Gerwen. He stayed with Van Gerwen early on by only trailing 5–3 and missed a dart for a nine-dart finish, but Wright would ultimately lose 11–4.[84] A week later Wright won the firstPlayers Championship of 2016 by recovering from 5–3 down to Lewis to triumph 6–5.[85] At the end of March, Wright reached the final of theGerman Darts Masters losing 6–4 to Van Gerwen.[86]
Wright missed out on a Premier League finals spot by two points.[87] A subsequent fallout on social media between Wright's wife Jo,Adrian Lewis and members of the management team ofGary Anderson led Wright to withdraw from the ScottishWorld Cup of Darts team, for whom he had represented in the previous years final, and was replaced byRobert Thornton.[88]Wright returned to PDC major televised action by reaching the quarter-finals of theWorld Matchplay after impressive 10–5 and 11–6 wins overJoe Cullen andIan White respectively, before losing narrowly 16–14 to Lewis.[89] He was edged out 6–5 by Van Gerwen in the final of theEuropean Darts Open and the pair met in a European Tour final for the third time this year at theEuropean Darts Grand Prix, with the world number one triumphing once again this time 6–2.[90][91] Wright lost 2–0 toBrendan Dolan in the first round of theWorld Grand Prix, but reached the semi-finals of theEuropean Championship and was ousted 11–8 byMensur Suljović.[92]
From 10–8 up in the semi-finals of theWorld Series of Darts Finals,Phil Taylor missed a total of seven match darts as Wright sneaked through to his seventh televised final and second in a row in this event 11–10. Once again Van Gerwen waited and Wright rallied from 10–6 to trail 10–9, but then missed five chances to level the game and was beaten 11–9.[93] It was a similar story at theGrand Slam as Wright went 5–0 up on Taylor in the quarter-finals and knocked him out 16–10, missing a dart at double 12 for a nine darter along the way.[94] In the semi-finals he lost to Van Gerwen for the 16th time in a row as the Dutchman averaged 111.17 to Wright's 102.13 in a 16–10 win. However, Wright, who so often changes his darts, stated that he had found a set he would be finally be staying with.[95] Another semi-final exit followed at thePlayers Championship Finals asDave Chisnall beat him 11–8.[96]
Wright averaged over 100 in each of his three matches at the2017 World Championship leading up to a quarter-final meeting withJames Wade in which he averaged even higher at 104.79.[97] He closed out the match with a 134 finish to win 5–3 and move on to a semi-final againstGary Anderson.[98] Wright battled to 3–3 having trailed 3–1, but lost nine of the final ten legs to be defeated 6–3.[99] His current world ranking of three is the highest he has ever been.[100] Wright won the firstUK Open Qualifier of the year by beatingAdrian Lewis 6–4 in the final and took the third event with a 6–5 win overMichael Smith in the final.[101][102]He made it three wins out of six events by defeatingJames Wade 6–3 in the final of the last qualifier to top the UK Open rankings.[103]
Wright produced the second highest televised three-dart average of all-time of 119.50 in a 7–2 victory over Lewis in the fifth week of thePremier League.[104] At the end of the same week he played in theUK Open, where he was the bookmakers' pre-tournament favourite due to his strong form and the absence of an injured van Gerwen. He defeatedJames Richardson, Dave Chisnall, andRob Cross in the first two days of the tournament. From the quarter-final stage he beatRaymond van Barneveld 10–8 (with an average of 110.88) andDaryl Gurney 11–5 to play in the final of the event for the third year in a row. Wright raced into a 7–2 lead overGerwyn Price and held on to claim his first major title with an 11–6 win.[105][106] Wright won theGerman Darts Championship by overcoming Van Gerwen 6–3 in the final. It was his first victory over the world number one in a final after Wright had lost 10 in a row.[107] He also added theGerman Darts Open to his growing collection of tournament wins after edging outBenito van de Pas 6–5 in the final by taking out a 121 finish with his opponent waiting on seven.[108] He quickly made it a hat-trick of European Tour tournament wins this year when he whitewashed Van Gerwen 6–0 in the final of theEuropean Darts Grand Prix.[109]
Wright came close to topping thePremier League table as he finished a point behind Van Gerwen. Nevertheless, he qualified for the play-offs for the first time and was 4–0 ahead of Taylor in the semi-finals. Wright still had to rely on Taylor missing darts at doubles including one to win the match and edged through 10–9. He also had a fast start in the final to be 7–2 up on Van Gerwen, before being pegged back to 8–8. At 10–9 Wright was one leg away from winning. He left 32 after nine darts, before missing six darts for the title. Wright still had the throw in the next leg, but Van Gerwen had a 12-dart leg to break and win 11–10.[110] Despite this disappointment, two days later Wright won the 11thPlayers Championship by overcomingDaryl Gurney 6–3.[111] Wright andGary Anderson suffered a surprise first round 5–2 defeat to Singapore at theWorld Cup.[112]
Wright reached the finals of the2017 World Matchplay and the2017 Grand Slam of Darts losing to Phil Taylor[113] and Michael van Gerwen[114] respectively. He won his first title on theWorld Series of Darts at the2017 German Darts Masters, beating Taylor 11–4 in the final.[115]
Wright had an early exit in the2018 World Championship, losing toJamie Lewis in the second round.[116] He only finished 7th in the2018 Premier League Darts,[117] but turned his season round by reaching the final of the2018 PDC World Cup of Darts, alongsideGary Anderson, losing to the Netherlands team.[118]
Wright followed his World Cup final appearance with a semi-final place at the2018 World Matchplay[119] and a win at the2018 Melbourne Darts Masters.[120] He also reached the finals of the2018 World Grand Prix and the2018 Champions League of Darts, losing to Michael van Gerwen[121] and Gary Anderson[122] respectively.
At the2019 World Championship, Wright again suffered an early exit, losing 3–1 to SpaniardToni Alcinas in the second round.[123] He finished the2019 Premier League Darts season in 8th, only beatingRaymond van Barneveld and contenderSteve Lennon over the season.[124] The Scotland team of Wright and Gary Anderson won the2019 PDC World Cup of Darts, beating Ireland in the final.[125] Wright subsequently won the2019 German Darts Masters, beatingGabriel Clemens in the final.[126]
Wright made the final of the2019 Champions League of Darts, and at one point led the first-of-eleven match againstMichael van Gerwen 10–7, but he missed three match darts and allowed Van Gerwen to win 11–10.[127] Wright also made the final of the2019 Grand Slam of Darts, losing 16–6 to reigning championGerwyn Price.[128]
At the2020 World Championship Wright survived a match dart at bullseye to win a sudden-death leg againstNoel Malicdem[129] in the second round, before beatingSeigo Asada[130] andJeffrey de Zwaan[131] to reach the quarter-finals, where he triumphed 5–3 overLuke Humphries to reach the semi-final for the first time since the2017 tournament.[132] In a bad-tempered affair,[133] Wright defeatedGerwyn Price 6–3 in the semi-final and defeatedMichael van Gerwen 7–3 in the final to become the 2020 World Darts Champion at the age of 49. On 2 February Wright beatMichael Smith 11–10 to win his firstMasters title. In November, Wright won his 4th major by beatingJames Wade 11–4 in the final of theEuropean Championship. Wright had a poor showing at theGrand Slam, failing to progress from the group stage after a 2–5 loss toDevon Petersen in his final match, later stating "When I lost to Devon I could have walked away from the sport quite easily."[134] Wright had better luck the following week with a run to the semi-finals of thePlayers Championship Finals making him just the third player in history (after Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor) to exceed £1,000,000 on thePDC Order of Merit.[135]
Wright kicked off the defence of his world title by beatingSteve West in his opening match of the2021 World Championship, dressed in aGrinch costume. His reign as world champion came to an end in the third round, when he was defeated 4–3 byGabriel Clemens.
In July, Wright won theWorld Matchplay title for the first time with a dominance performance whereby he won all five of his matches by a minimum of six legs and averaged over 100 throughout. He defeatedDanny Noppert,Joe Cullen, Michael Smith, Michael van Gerwen and finally defending championDimitri van den Bergh. He followed this up with a second world cup win for Scotland, this time partneringJohn Henderson. A dry period including a first round loss to Rob Cross at the Grand Prix ended with a third Grand Slam of Darts final, beatingJose de Sousa,Fallon Sherrock and Michael Smith in the knockout rounds (the latter being a 16–12 win from 8–12 behind) before once again losing to Gerwyn Price. The following week, Wright won his first Players Championship Finals title, following comfortable wins over van Gerwen andJonny Clayton with a deciding leg victory overRyan Searle in the final. This completed Wright's set of reaching the final of every active PDC major and was his fifth win in two years.
Wright started his2022 World Championship campaign with a convincing 3–0 win againstRyan Meikle, before fighting back from 2–0 down to defeatDamon Heta 4–2 in the third round. He next beatRyan Searle 4–1, before coming back from 4–3 down to beatCallan Rydz in extra legs to make the semi-final. There he beatGary Anderson 6–4 to reach the final for the third time in his career.[136] Wright defeatedMichael Smith 7–5 in the final to win his second world title.[137][138]
In theMasters, Wright suffered an early exit, losing 10–8 toSimon Whitlock in the round of 16. In theUK Open, he defeatedJoe Cullen 10–6 in the fourth round before beating Simon Whitlock 10–5. However, his tournament came to an end after losing 10–7 toWilliam O'Connor after many missed doubles. On the 7th of March, Wright became the PDC World Number 1 for the first time, becoming the 11th player to do so and the oldest ever first time world number 1 at 51 years old.[139] In thePremier League, Wright finished 5th in the league table, meaning he did not qualify for the play-offs after only winning 1 night in the league stage. In theWorld Cup of Darts, alongsideJohn Henderson, the pair defeated Hong Kong 5–1 in the opening round, before overcoming Portugal 2–0 in the round of 16, with Wright himself scraping pastJosé de Sousa 4–3 to secure the victory, although Scotland would go on to lose 2–0 to England in the quarter-finals, with Wright himself losing 4–1 toJames Wade.
Following the conclusion of theGrand Slam of Darts, Wright withdrew from thePlayers Championship Finals in order to be with his wife who was receiving treatment after agallbladder operation.[140]
At the2023 World Championship, Wright opened his world title defence with a 3–0 win overMickey Mansell.[141] His reign ended when he lost 4–1 toKim Huybrechts in the third round.[142]
Wright won his first title of the year at theNordic Darts Masters, beatingGerwyn Price in the final 11–5.[143] He won his first ranking title of the year at theCzech Darts Open in May, where he defeatedDave Chisnall 8–6 in the final.[144] In the2023 Premier League, he failed to win a night over the course of sixteen weeks and finished bottom of the league table.[145][146] Wright andGary Anderson, representing Scotland, reached the final of the2023 World Cup of Darts but lost to the Wales 10–2.[147]
At the2023 European Championship, Wright reached the final following an 11–8 win overDanny Noppert. He won his secondEuropean Championship by beatingJames Wade 11–6.[148][149]
At the2024 World Championship, Wright suffered a shock 3–0 second round loss toJim Williams.[150][151] In the2024 Premier League, Wright only won two matches for the entire season and finished bottom of the league table.[152] He won theGerman Darts Championship after a surprise 8–5 victory overLuke Littler in the final, where Wright won six consecutive legs to win the match.[153][154]
At the2025 World Championship, he reached the quarter-finals. In the lead-up to his fourth-round tie against reigning World ChampionLuke Humphries, Wright made it known that he was at the tournament to upset tournament favourites Humphries andLuke Littler, and was not ready to listen to calls for him to retire. He was accused of "mind games" by Humphries, who claimed he was "one world title away from almost matching [Wright's] career".[155][156] Wright defeated Humphries 4–1 after winning the last three sets, eliminating the defending champion.[157] In his quarter-final match, he lost toStephen Bunting 5–2.[158]
For the first time sincethe 2013 event, Wright was not selected in the2025 Premier League Darts lineup.[159] He reached the final ofPlayers Championship 11 in April, losing 8–3 toCameron Menzies.[160] Wright failed to qualify for theGrand Slam of Darts for the first time since2012 after losing 5–0 toConnor Scutt in thePDC Tour Card holder qualifying event.[161]
Wright has become known for his colourful Mohican hairstyle and extravagant clothing, which change between every round of his tournaments. His hair takes two hours to complete and is done by his hairdresser wife Joanne and inspired by their daughter. He usually has a snake painted on to the side of his head, which many believed was reference to his favourite drink, thesnakebite, which is also his nickname. However, he is actually called Snakebite due to his love of snakes, stating in an interview after his first World Championship win, "I just like snakes. I'm a bit like a snake – I'm a quiet person who likes to be left alone. If you keep poking me, I'll bite you," he said.
Wright equates his look to applying war paint before going into battle, as he is naturally shy away from theoche. In the past, he has used specially designed darts which changed colour depending on the light. Wright is known to regularly try different sets of darts as he tweaks the weight, flights and stems. He did so between every round when he reached the2014 World Championship final.[162]
Wright performs a sidestep dance across the whole stage toPitbull's "Don't Stop the Party" at the beginning of his matches.[163] He regularly pauses on the third dart of leg-winning doubles and moves away from the oche to encourage the crowd to make more noise upon his return. In aPremier League match, he bent his knees to lower his height by about a foot to throw an exhibition dart. Some of his opponents, includingAdrian Lewis andMichael van Gerwen, have called such showmanship disrespectful. Wright has stated that his job is to entertain spectators and would continue playing in the same manner.[164][165]
| Legend |
|---|
| World Championship (2–1) |
| World Matchplay (1–1) |
| World Grand Prix (0–1) |
| Grand Slam (0–3) |
| Premier League (0–1) |
| UK Open (1–2) |
| European Championship (2–0) |
| Players Championship Finals (1–0) |
| Masters (1–0) |
| Champions League (0–2) |
| World Series of Darts Finals (0–2) |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score[N 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 2014 | World Championship |  Michael van Gerwen | 4–7 (s) |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2015 | UK Open | Michael van Gerwen | 5–11 (l) |
| Runner-up | 3. | 2015 | World Series of Darts Finals | Michael van Gerwen | 10–11 (l) |
| Runner-up | 4. | 2016 | UK Open | Michael van Gerwen | 4–11 (l) |
| Runner-up | 5. | 2016 | World Series of Darts Finals | Michael van Gerwen | 9–11 (l) |
| Winner | 1. | 2017 | UK Open |  Gerwyn Price | 11–6 (l) |
| Runner-up | 6. | 2017 | Premier League | Michael van Gerwen | 10–11 (l) |
| Runner-up | 7. | 2017 | World Matchplay |  Phil Taylor | 8–18 (l) |
| Runner-up | 8. | 2017 | Grand Slam | Michael van Gerwen | 12–16 (l) |
| Runner-up | 9. | 2018 | Champions League |  Gary Anderson | 4–11 (l) |
| Runner-up | 10. | 2018 | World Grand Prix | Michael van Gerwen | 2–5 (s) |
| Runner-up | 11. | 2019 | Champions League | Michael van Gerwen | 10–11 (l) |
| Runner-up | 12. | 2019 | Grand Slam | Gerwyn Price | 6–16 (l) |
| Winner | 2. | 2020 | World Championship | Michael van Gerwen | 7–3 (s) |
| Winner | 3. | 2020 | Masters | Michael Smith | 11–10 (l) |
| Winner | 4. | 2020 | European Championship | James Wade | 11–4 (l) |
| Winner | 5. | 2021 | World Matchplay |  Dimitri Van den Bergh | 18–9 (l) |
| Runner-up | 13. | 2021 | Grand Slam | Gerwyn Price | 8–16 (l) |
| Winner | 6. | 2021 | Players Championship Finals | Ryan Searle | 11–10 (l) |
| Winner | 7. | 2022 | World Championship | Michael Smith | 7–5 (s) |
| Winner | 8. | 2023 | European Championship | James Wade | 11–6 (l) |
| Legend |
|---|
| World Series of Darts (4–3) |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score[N 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 2014 | Dubai Darts Masters | Michael van Gerwen | 7–11 (l) |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2015 | Japan Darts Masters | Phil Taylor | 7–8 (l) |
| Runner-up | 3. | 2017 | Melbourne Darts Masters | Phil Taylor | 8–11 (l) |
| Winner | 1. | 2017 | German Darts Masters | Phil Taylor | 11–4 (l) |
| Winner | 2. | 2018 | Melbourne Darts Masters | Michael Smith | 11–8 (l) |
| Winner | 3. | 2019 | German Darts Masters |  Gabriel Clemens | 8–6 (l) |
| Winner | 4. | 2023 | Nordic Darts Masters | Gerwyn Price | 11–5 (l) |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Team | Teammate | Opponents in the final | Score[N 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 2015 | World Cup of Darts | Scotland | Gary Anderson | England –Phil Taylor andAdrian Lewis | 2–3 (m) |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2018 | Netherlands –Michael van Gerwen andRaymond van Barneveld | 1–3 (m) | |||
| Winner | 1. | 2019 |  Ireland –Steve Lennon andWilliam O'Connor | 3–1 (m) | |||
| Winner | 2. | 2021 | John Henderson |  Austria –Mensur Suljović andRowby-John Rodriguez | 3–1 (m) | ||
| Runner-up | 3. | 2023 | Gary Anderson | Wales –Gerwyn Price andJonny Clayton | 2–10 (l) |
BDO
| Tournament | 1995 | 2001 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BDO Ranked televised events | |||||||||||
| BDO World Championship | 1R | DNQ | |||||||||
| Winmau World Masters | 1R | 2R | |||||||||
PDC
PDC European Tour
| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | ADO 2R | GDC 2R | EDO 1R | GDM 1R | DDM 1R | |||||||||
| 2013 | UKM 1R | EDT 3R | EDO SF | ADO 2R | GDT 3R | GDC F | GDM 3R | DDM QF | ||||||
| 2014 | GDC 2R | DDM 2R | GDM 2R | ADO SF | GDT 2R | EDO W | EDG 2R | EDT QF | ||||||
| 2015 | GDC 3R | GDT 2R | GDM SF | DDM 2R | IDO 3R | EDO 2R | EDT SF | EDM QF | EDG F | |||||
| 2016 | DDM 3R | GDM F | GDT QF | EDM SF | ADO QF | EDO F | IDO 3R | EDT QF | EDG F | GDC 3R | ||||
| 2017 | GDC W | GDM QF | GDO W | EDG W | GDT SF | EDM 3R | ADO 2R | EDO W | DDM SF | GDG 2R | IDO W | EDT 3R | ||
| 2018 | EDO F | GDG F | GDO 2R | ADO 2R | EDG 3R | DDM QF | GDT QF | DDO QF | EDM WD | GDC WD | DDC SF | IDO 2R | EDT 2R | |
| 2019 | EDO SF | GDC QF | GDG 2R | GDO 3R | ADO QF | EDG F | DDM QF | DDO 3R | CDO 2R | ADC SF | EDM 2R | IDO SF | GDT QF | |
| 2020 | BDC SF | GDC 3R | EDG WD | IDO WD | ||||||||||
| 2021 | HDT QF | GDT 2R | ||||||||||||
| 2022 | IDO F | GDC QF | GDG 2R | ADO 2R | EDO 2R | CDO WD | EDG SF | DDC 3R | EDM WD | HDT 2R | GDO W | BDO 2R | GDT F | |
| 2023 | BSD 3R | EDO 2R | IDO QF | GDG 2R | ADO 2R | DDC QF | BDO 2R | CDO W | EDG DNP | EDM DNP | GDO 2R | HDT 3R | GDC F | |
| 2024 | BDO 3R | GDG 2R | IDO 1R | EDG 1R | ADO 3R | BSD 2R | DDC 2R | EDO 3R | GDC W | FDT QF | HDT 3R | SDT 1R | CDO 2R | |
| 2025 | BDO 2R | EDT 2R | IDO QF | GDG QF | ADO 3R | EDG QF | DDC 2R | EDO 3R | BSD WD | FDT 2R | CDO 3R | HDT 2R | SDT 2R | GDC QF |
PDC Players Championships
| Performance Table Legend | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Won the tournament | F | Finalist | SF | Semifinalist | QF | Quarterfinalist | #R RR L# | Lost in # round Round-robin Last # stage | DQ | Disqualified |
| DNQ | Did not qualify | DNP | Did not participate | WD | Withdrew | NH | Tournament not held | NYF | Not yet founded | ||
| Date | Opponent | Tournament | Method | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 August 2020 |  Daryl Gurney | Premier League | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | N/A |
| Average | Date | Opponent | Tournament | Stage | Score | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 119.50 | 2 March 2017 | Adrian Lewis | 2017 Premier League | Week 5 | 7–2 (W) | |
| 113.02 | 3 February 2022 | Jonny Clayton | 2022 Premier League | Week 1 (Final) | 6–1 (W) |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | PDC World Number One 6 March – 24 July 2022 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | PDC World Number One 9 – 30 October 2022 | Succeeded by |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by | PDC Player of the Year 2021 | Succeeded by |