Peter Wright feels players will now be "wary" of facing him in the Premier League after returning to form in Birmingham; Wright faces Nathan Aspinall in Brighton quarter-final looking to keep slim play-off hopes alive; watch live on Sky Sports Action from 7pm, Thursday
Thursday 13 April 2023 17:11, UK
Play-off outsider Peter Wright feels reaching a first nightly final of the Premier League Darts season will prove a "turning point" and that players will now be "wary" of facing him.
Wright had won just one match across the first nine rounds - a 6-5 victory over Gerwyn Price on Night Six in Liverpool - but returned to form on Night 10 in Birmingham, thumping Michael Smith 6-1 and edging Price 6-5 before being pipped 6-5 by Jonny Clayton in the final.
The two-time world champion needs another successful night in Brighton on Thursday - live on Sky Sports Action from 7pm - to keep his slender play-off hopes alive, with the Scot still rooted to the foot of the table on five points, 10 behind fourth-placed Smith.
Wright, who faces Nathan Aspinall in his quarter-final, said: "I think this could be a turning point for me. I believe all the other guys I've got to play from now on are going to be more wary, instead of thinking they're playing the whipping boy!
"I believed last week and the week before that I could still make the play-offs. It just needs to click and hopefully it will start clicking now. Last week was a positive one for me.
"My Premier League form had not been good, so it was nice to get a couple of wins under my belt. I didn't expect to beat Gezzy [Price] because he's a man on fire at the moment, but I took my chances."
Clayton's nightly victory in Birmingham - in which he also overcame Aspinall and Michael van Gerwen - was his second in a row, with the Welshman also triumphing in Berlin a week earlier.
The Ferret has risen to third in the eight-man league on 17 points, two clear of Smith - the man he faces first up in Brighton - and fifth-placed Aspinall.
Clayton, Premier League champion in 2021, said: "It doesn't get any tougher than playing the world No 1 [Smith] but if you want to make the top four you have to beat the top players.
"It is fantastic to see myself back in the top four after being seventh in the league [two weeks ago]. That is where I want to be - Finals Night!
"In the first half of the season, nothing was going my way. I'm still not playing my best darts, but I'm getting through games and that is all that counts.
"I'm confident I can make the play-offs, but it will still be a hard task. I think I'm good enough to be there, but there are eight players chasing the same dream."
Elsewhere in the Brighton quarter-finals, league leader Van Gerwen will take on Dimitri Van den Bergh, while Price - five points behind Van Gerwen in second - meets Chris Dobey.
Van Gerwen has won 17 of his 18 matches against Van den Bergh, including both matches in this year's Premier League.
Quarter-Finals
Dimitri Van den Bergh vs Michael van Gerwen
Chris Dobey vs Gerwyn Price
Peter Wright vs Nathan Aspinall
Jonny Clayton vs Michael Smith
Semi-Finals
Van den Bergh/Van Gerwen vs Dobey/Price
Wright/Aspinall vs Clayton/Smith
