Peter Wright endured another disappointing week at the World Cup of Darts.
Wright partnered Gary Anderson to take Scotland to the semi-final, where they were swept aside by eventual champions England.
The Scots were largely carried by the firepower of Anderson and ‘Snakebite’ laboured for large parts of the event.
Michael Smith took aim at the 54-year-old’s performances after a backstage joke from Wright, and former World Matchplay champion Colin Lloyd revealed he had some advice for the struggling arrowsmith.
Lloyd tells Peter Wright to get back on the practice board
Scotland narrowly avoided a shock defeat to Sweden in the quarterfinals, coming through a deciding leg.
Wright averaged a mere 80.00 individually and speaking to the Love the Darts podcast, Lloyd shared what the former World Cup winner had told him.
Lloyd said: “After the quarterfinals, I come walking around backstage and I bumped into the guys [Wright and Anderson], and Peter Wright just looked at me and goes, ‘God, that was a bad performance, wasn’t it?’
“I just said, ‘Listen, mate, you can’t think about it. You’re through now, and maybe get back in the back room and get practising and start doing some stuff. You know, trying to put some wrongs to right.’”
Wright’s form is cause for concern
Wright’s position as one of the greatest players ever is established irrespective of what happens moving forward.
Few have been as successful as the two-time World Champion, but his poor form is more than a blemish.
The reigning European Champion has been far from his best in 18 months, and 2024 has been particularly dismal.
He finished rock bottom of the Premier League again, and managed only two victories across the recent Players Championship events.
Confidence is low and an early exit at the World Matchplay this month will only compound his woes.
The 2021 champion could fall out of the world’s top 10 with a poor showing at the Winter Gardens for the first time in over a decade.