Peter Wright says he is "ready" to be world champion after reaching his first PDC World Darts Championship final since 2014.
The Scotsman has never won the tournament and will be facing three-time champion Michael Van Gerwen in the final, the same opponent who beat him in 2014.
“I want to play the best player in the world, the No 1, the guy who wins all the titles – or the titles I have given him,” Wright told Sky Sports. “But he will be playing a different Wrighty tomorrow, and this Wrighty will be up for MvG.”
“I have not been in the final since 2014. I was not ready to be world champion then, he deserved to be world champion and has done a fantastic job being the world champion.”
“But this time, I think I am ready; I know I am ready. I have learned a lot in all of those years, have matured more. I have learned from mistakes, and MvG will be playing a new Wrighty, not the old Wrighty ... it is my time, that is why I am here.”
Meanwhile, Van Gerwen beat Nathan Aspinall 6-3 in his semi-final and highlighted his superior head-to-head record against Wright. The Dutchman has won 59 of their meetings, with Wright coming out on top 17 times.
“Most of the time when he [Wright] plays me, he sort of blows it up, misses darts at doubles. That is a good thing for myself,” Van Gerwen said. “He has to do better if he wants to beat me, he knows that.”
“Against me, he is not allowed to miss those doubles, so we will see what is going to happen and I need to make sure I play a bit better than him. Until the semi-final, I had a higher tournament average than he did, and everyone is saying he is playing quite well, so that must say what my standard is.”
While Van Gerwen added that Wright's form is due a landmark win, he noted: "it won’t be this week, that’s for sure.”
The final begins at 7.15 pm.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
