Luke Humphries left this arena stunned and staggered, left it the victim of one of the greatest ambushes ever plotted on this stage, left it a former world champion. For an ailing and ageing Peter Wright, the only conceivable reality in which he could win this match existed in his own mind, and over 40 scintillating minutes he set about carving this vision into magnificent flesh.
Wright knew what he was doing when he aimed a little barb at Humphries, predicting he would lose early in the tournament. But on some remote level, a seed had been planted. And when battle arrived, Wright did not shrink. All the old tics and tricks came out: switching his darts as if they were clubs in a golf bag, refusing bull out-shots even when Humphries was on a finish, showing the world No 1 a magnificent disrespect.
At which point, something strange happened. The Palace crowd, often indifferent to Wright in the past, swung firmly behind him. Wright responded with darts of the finest vintage: an average of 101, backed by a 70% rate on the doubles, backed by an impeccable sense of timing and discipline and nerve and spirit.
Humphries didn't throw badly at all. He averaged 99 and hit 56% of his doubles. He was excellent, verging world class. But it was Wright’s sheer will to manifest his former self that delivered the real shock.
Collection
[
|
...
]