Peter Wright is ready to play the villain on the opening night of the Grand Slam of Darts when he comes up against Fallon Sherrock.
Wright is paired up with Sherrock for the second successive year in Wolverhampton after they were in the same group in 2021 before knocking her out in the quarter-finals.
Sherrock, who booked her place in the tournament by winning the inaugural Women’s Matchplay in July, remains a crowd favourite following her breakthrough exploits at the World Championship in 2019.
And Wright knows that everyone will be wanting the 28-year-old to win their Group E contest.
“Against Fallon I am going to have the whole crowd against me like I normally do but I am used to that,” he said.
“You are still going to get it from the crowd because they want Fallon to win.
“If she decides to want to concentrate I need to watch out. She proved it against Gabriel Clemens last year and proved it against myself in the later stages when it was over a long distance.
“I managed to get over the line but I was pushed all the way.”
Sherrock is not the only woman to make a name for herself as the emergence of teenager Beau Greaves has sent shockwaves around the sport.
The 18-year-old from Doncaster booked herself a place at the World Championship next month after a staggering run of form on the PDC Women’s Tour, where she has now won eight tournaments on the spin.
Wright says she is from a “different planet” and that no one will want to play her at Alexandra Palace.
“We have got the Worlds coming up and Beau Greaves is from a different planet at the moment, no one wants to draw her because whoever draws her, you guys will be asking the questions,” he said.
“I have seen what has been on the TV and PDC streaming. She is a very confident young person. When I was that young age I was very confident as well, take on the world and bring it on.
“I feel like the ladies have got something magical to be in the World Championship for all the hard work they do. I am looking forward to seeing her up on stage, just hopefully not against me.
“She is doing things totally different, she has won eight tournaments on the trot, which is unheard of in women’s darts. So fair play to her, keep it up.”
Wright, who is the defending world champion, is not having the best of years, having struggled with health as both he and his wife have suffered from gallstones.
He has lost his position as world number one to Gerwyn Price, but is vowing to win it back by ending the year strongly with the Grand Slam, Players Championship and World Championship.
“I feel a lot better, I feel very good. I am ready for the three major tournaments coming up,” he said.
“It has been a privilege and been one of my dreams to be number one in the world but my performance has not shown being number one in the world and I am really gutted.
“Gezzy has shown the form this year why he is number one and that is good that he is proving a point. We are at the end of the year now and hopefully I can show everyone why I want to be number one and I am going to be number one.”
