Van Gerwen: Time for Wright to Hang Up His Darts

Michael van Gerwen has sparked controversy in the darts world by suggesting that Peter Wright should retire from professional darts following his early exit from the World Darts Championship.

Wright’s Downward Spiral

The 55-year-old Scottish player has been on a downward spiral since losing his opening match at the World Championship in 2023. He has dropped down the rankings and has failed to make a significant impact in televised ranking tournaments in the last two years.

Van Gerwen’s Comments

Van Gerwen, a two-time world champion, was not surprised by Wright’s performance against German debutant Arno Merk, which ended in a 3-0 whitewash. He stated that Wright has been playing poorly lately and that it’s time for him to retire.
“I’m not really surprised by his performance because he’s been playing poorly lately,” Van Gerwen said. “I think it’s time for him to retire anyway.”

Contrasting Views

However, not everyone agrees with Van Gerwen’s assessment. Gary Anderson, another Scottish veteran and two-time world champion, believes that Wright needs time to reflect on his performance and should not make a knee-jerk reaction about his future.
“We can’t play well all the time,” Anderson said. “People think we’re robots and you’ve just got to play well all the time or a bad couple of games it’s ‘he’s finished, he’s retiring’.”

Support for Wright

Sky Sports Darts’ Wayne Mardle also expressed his support for Wright, stating that he should not make a hasty decision about his future.
“It was an awful watch – watching a champion, a legend of our sport, someone who has helped the sport grow, I didn’t enjoy it one bit,” Mardle said. “I don’t know what questions Peter will ask himself – whether it’s like ‘it’s fine, I will carry on. I love the game’.”

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