Peter Wright remains winless in this year's Premier League Darts. Will it be lift-off for the Scot in Glasgow? I The OVO Hydro, Glasgow hosts the third of 17 individual venues on Thursday, February 16 with the Play-Offs returning to The O2 in London on Thursday, May 25
Thursday 16 February 2023 19:12, UK
Peter Wright will be bidding to ignite his Premier League Darts campaign against Dimitri Van den Bergh when he makes his homecoming at Glasgow's OVO Hydro on Thursday.
The 2017 Premier League runner-up lost to eventual winner Chris Dobey on Night One in Belfast, before going down to Night Two finalist, Nathan Aspinall, in Cardiff last Thursday.
Despite his winless start to the campaign, Wright, who picked up his first televised title for more than a year at the Nordic Darts Masters last month, will hope to return to winning ways on home turf.
Wright takes on Van den Bergh in his quarter-final encounter before a potential showdown against Nathan Aspinall or Michael Van Gerwen.
"Wright has been a bit unlucky but he's a good reader of the game and it's early days, so I think he'll be fairly relaxed about the whole situation and he'll be expected to register some points in Glasgow," said Sky Sports' analyst Webster.
"He'll get the crowd support but we know Gary Anderson is their boy so it won't be the same level of support but they'll get behind him.
"For Peter, it's week three so don't panic. He started brilliantly last year but then it unravelled so he knows the flipside. A good start guarantees nothing and a bad start guarantees nothing either, so he'll be fairly relaxed.
"It's early days in the Premier League and I don't think the players panic yet - a couple more weeks possibly. He'll be looking forward to going up there and that fact that it's in Glasgow is a bonus for him."
Webster says 'Snakebite' will "fancy his chances" against Van den Bergh, while the pace of the Belgian should be to his liking.
"I spoke to Peter and he feels that his set-up is good so he'll be raring to go. He'll chop and change his darts. The fat barrels darts with the wobbly points are his best set but he generally plays well with the slim-line barrel set," revealed Webster.
"He'll use them again on Thursday but he will always chop and change. It's kind of worthless even thinking that he'll stick with this set.
"We can judge all we want but it's got him two world titles and world No 1 so there's obviously some method to the madness. He'll keep doing it."
The 52-year-old is relishing the opportunity to star in front of a sell-out crowd in Glasgow.
"I am hoping the crowd will inspire me to play magic darts, which I've done before when I played Adrian Lewis in Glasgow. If I can do that again, I'll be happy!" admitted Wright.
"Dimi is a great dart player. It's going to be a tough game and obviously I haven't won yet, so it's about getting that confidence back.
"I've got another 14 weeks to go so I'm not worried. I'm planning to win at least five nights, so it would be a great start to do it in Glasgow.
"It's going to be strange not having Gary there. The crowd are always behind Gary, but he's working hard on his game and hopefully he'll be back up those rankings and back in the Premier League next year."
Webster also spoke about his concern for Jonny Clayton in Cardiff last week, but 'The Ferret' showed some form by reaching the semi-finals of the Players Championship on Saturday in Barnsley.
"The rhythm, the scoring, the finishing was back when I saw him play at the weekend in Barnsley," said Webster. "He was on point so I think that was good for Jonny.
"He needs some points soon and you don't want to get to week three of four with no points at all. If he can get a victory over Dobey, it's doable, but Dobey has taken the whole format in his stride.
"Jonny is going to have to work hard to get some points."
The 48-year-old was beaten by Van den Bergh on Night One despite posting a ton-plus average, before his hopes of a dream homecoming in Cardiff were dashed by Smith.
"I was so desperate to do well in Cardiff, but it just didn't happen," conceded Clayton, who takes on Night One champion Chris Dobey in Thursday's fourth quarter-final tussle.
"When you get chances you need to take them and I didn't take them against Dimitri or Michael, so I need to put that right against Chris.
"I know I'm good enough. It's just a shaky start, so hopefully I can put things right, starting in Glasgow.
"There is no need to panic, if you get a few wins you're back in the game. I won four nights last year, so there is no reason why I can't do it this year."
"I don't think Clayton, Dobey, Aspinall and Van den Bergh can afford having any time off. Neither can Price to be fair because it's quick-fire. You finish in Glasgow and then get to your bed, then you're on the road down to Barnsley and then Dobey has to play on the European Tour, which is an added distraction for him," said Webster.
"It can be to your benefit as well because getting to a semi-final in Barnsley has probably helped his cause. You've got to manage it well, but if you're going to be successful you're going to be busy so you've just got to learn to manage it."
We're back for more Premier League Darts action from the OVO Hydro, Glasgow on Thursday, February 16 - live on Sky Sports Mix from 7pm.