Suffolk's Peter 'Snakebite' Wright has vowed to return to the glamour final of the darts world again after being defeated this evening by title favourite Michael van Gerwen.
The 43-year-old, from Mendham, near Harleston in north Suffolk, was defeated 7-4 in an exciting Ladbrokes World Darts Championship final at Alexandra Palace.
When asked if he thought he could lift the trophy one day, Wright said confidently: 'I will do, watch out.'
Wright is famed for his brightly-coloured shirts and extravagant hairstyles, thanks to his wife Jo, who runs Medusa hair salon in Lowestoft.
He had cruised into the final on Monday evening when beating Simon Whitlock 6-2 in the semi-final to set up the final against 24-year-old Dutchman van Gerwen.
The Scot, ranked 16th in the 2013 PDC Order of Merit, lost the first four sets before hitting back to bring the match to 4-2 against 2/9 favourite van Gerwen, who lost out to Phil Taylor in the final last year.
But the Dutchman rallied in the seventh set with a tense 3-2 win to halt Wright's spirited comeback and take his overall lead to 5-2.
Nerves then seemed to get the better of van Gerwen as he attempted to close out the match and take an unassailable 7-2 lead, allowing Wright to again rally and took the set 3-1 to bring the score to 6-3, and keep his hopes alive.
He continued his comeback in the next set to bring the score to 6-4 and in the 11th set both players went toe to toe in pursuit of glory, squaring the set at 2-2.
Van Gerwen knew the world title was his if he could win the game and again the nerves seemed to set in for both players, the Dutchman even dropping a dart in his penultimate visit to the oche.
Wright missed double 20 to seal the set though and van Gerwen saw out the set to secure a thrilling 7-4 victory and let rip a huge roar of victory.
Despite the defeat, Wright walked away having become a crowd favourite and also claimed a cheque for £100,000 for finishing as runner-up.
With the crowd still singing his name, Wright said after the loss: 'It's amazing, thank you everybody, thank you to all the sponsors, but it's all you guys (pointing to the audience) which make the darts, thank you very much.'
He added of the match: 'I never give up - that's my game. The crowd got behind me and made me play - but well done Michael.'
Van Gerwen said after lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy: 'I got nervous after going 4-0 up but it doesn't matter how you win a final, winning it is the most important.
'It's unbelievable, a dream come true. I'm so glad I won but all credit to Peter, he did well and put me under pressure.'
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